Tonight is What it Means to Be Young
by Renthead621
Summary: RogerOC Pre Rent Roger has a band in high school and falls for his beautiful lead singer. Sequel Nowhere Fast now posted. Please read and review. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, I'm here for the audition." a young girl said entering the garage where Roger Davis and his high school band practiced. Roger was usually lead singer but the guys had taken a vote and decided that having a girl singer would get them more gigs.

"Yeah, hey. Come on in." Roger smiled looking up from his guitar.

"Hi, I'm Ava. I saw your flyers up at school." the girl smiled looking up at him.

"OK, let's see what you got." Roger said walking towards her.

"Do you guys know any Pat Benatar?" she asked looking over at them as Roger handed her the microphone off of the stand.

"Yeah, we know some. Which one do you wanna do?" he asked smiling at her.

"Hit me with your best shot?" she asked looking over at them.

"I think we can do that one." Jimmy said smiling at her as he sat behind his drum set.

"OK, let's do it." she smiled as Roger started the intro. _"Well you're a real tough cookie with a long history of breakin little hearts like the one in me. That's OK, let's see how you do it. So put up your dukes, let's get down to it. Hit me with you best shot. Why don't you hit me with your best shot. Hit me with your best shot. Fire away. You come on with your come ons, you don't fight fair. That's OK, see if I care. Knock me down, it's all in vain. I'll get right back on my feet again. Hit me with your best shot. Why don't you hit me with your best shot. Hit me with your best shot. Fire away. Well you're a real tough cookie with a long history of breakin little hearts like the one in me, so before I put another notch in my lipstick case, you better make sure you put me in my place. Hit me with your best shot. C'mon, hit me with your best shot. Hit me with your best shot. Fire away. Hit me with your best shot. Why don't you hit me with your best shot. Hit me with your best shot. Fire awaaaaaay." _she sang knocking everyone's socks off. Here was this beautiful blond haired blue eyed girl, who looked so demure and reserved and she opens her mouth and belts out one of the most awesome rock chick anthems of their time.

"That was incredible Ava. What grade are you in?" Will asked looking over at her from his bass guitar.

"10th. I just moved here from Cleveland." she said looking over at them putting the microphone back on the stand.

"Cleveland? As in, where the rock and roll hall of fame is, Cleveland?" Roger asked breaking his silence.

"Yeah, that's the place. So you've heard of it?" she smiled looking over at him. He had short blond hair and piercing green eyes.

"Yeah, you can say that. I've always wanted to go there." he said smiling down at her.

"It's really cool. So does this mean I'm in the band?" she asked looking up at them.

"Definately." Roger smiled looking down at her.

"Great, so when is rehearsal?" she asked looking over at Roger.

"After school on tuesdays, thursdays and some saturdays. It depends on when my dad has to work. He parks in the garage and we have to push everything in the corner.

"So why don't we rehearse on monday, wednesday and fridays?" she asked looking up at him.

"Because June has guitar lessons on monday, my mom has her friends over for her bridge games on wednesday and fridays there's usually school dances or something going on around here." he said looking down at her.

"You guys have really busy schedules, huh?" she said smiling at them.

"Yeah well, we try to keep busy. Our parents don't like when we just sit around. That's why my mom lets us play out here. We're just close enough for her to know we're not getting into any trouble and just far enough away that we're not blasting her out of the house." he laughed as the other guys looked at them smiling.

"Right. Got it. So what kind of music do you guys play?" she asked shoving her hands in the front pockets of her jeans.

"Rock. A lot of cover song. I've been wanting to add some Pat Benatar and Joan Jett songs, so you'll be perfect." he smiled looking down at his guitar as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Cool. I can't wait to start rehearsing with you guys. You're really good." she smiled looking up at him.

"Yeah well most of us have been playing since we were kids. Me and June have lived next door to each other since we were born and Jimmy moved here when we started 1st grade and Will's my cousin, so he's always around." Roger laughed introducing all the guys.

"Is your name really June?" she asked smiling at him.

"Actually it DJ for Dominic Junior, but Roger's been calling me June since forever, so everyone just calls me that." he smiled holding his rhythm guitar.

"It's cool that you guys have known each other so long." she smiled looking around at all of them.

"How about we do a couple of more songs and then we can go in and raid my moms cookies? She bakes them fresh." Roger smiled looking up at everyone.

"OK, I'd like that." Ava said smiling at them as Roger started playing another song. Ava stood in front of the microphone and started singing. Before she knew it they had sung 5 songs.

"You guys sound great. Roger, why don't you introduce me to your friend?" Mrs. Davis said clapping from the door leading to the house.

"Thanks mom. Um.. this is Ava. She's our new lead singer. Isn't she great?" Roger raved introducing her to his mother.

"You sounded great Ava. You sound like that girl on the radio Roger likes to listen to." she smiled looking over at Ava.

"That's Pat Benatar mom." Roger told her taking his guitar off.

"Thank you Mrs. Davis." Ava said smiling at her.

"Mom, is it OK if we go in and have some cookies before everyone goes home?" he asked looking up at her.

"Sure sweetie. Just follow the boys Ava, they know where I keep the cookies." Mrs. Davis said smiling at Ava.

"Thank you Mrs. Davis." she smiled as she followed Roger. As they ate cookies in the Davis kitchen, they all talked about songs they wanted to do. Roger was picking all Pat Benatar songs, which was fine with Ava, but the other boys wanted to do harder songs. They had finally agreed an some Pat Benatar songs and some songs that Roger and Ava could sing together.

"I gotta get home Rog. My dad asked me to take the garbage out this morning and I still haven't done it. I'll see you at school tomorrow." Jimmy said putting his glass of milk in the sink.

"Yeah, I gotta go too. I gotta start my homework. See you tomorrow." June said rushing out of the house.

"I should be going too. I have to be home before my mom gets home from work." Ava said looking up at Roger.

"Do you want me to walk you home? It's getting dark." he offered as Will sat at the kitchen counter of the Davis home.

"Sure, I'd like that. Maybe you can show me a short cut." she smiled as they got up from the counter.

"Mom, I'm gonna walk Ava home, OK?" Roger called out putting his leather jacket on.

"OK Roger. Just come right home, OK? I'm gonna start putting dinner on and you have homework to do." she called out from the living room.

"OK mom. I'll be right back." he yelled as he and Ava left out the front door.

"Thanks for offering to walk me home. I really appreciate it. I don't know the area that well. I was afraid I'd get lost." she said looking over at him.

"Well my dad always taught me to be a gentleman and offer to walk a lady home." he smiled looking over at her as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

"Your dad sounds like my mom. She's all prim and proper." she laughed looking up at him.

"There's nothing wrong with treating a lady like a lady. That's what my dad says anyway." he laughed as they rounded the corner.

"So how come you're not singing for the band?" she asked looking over at him.

"Me and the guys figured it would be cool to have a girl lead singer. We were afraid we'd have to listen to every wannabe rock chick in the school, but luckily you came in and you really got it. You're really talented." he told her smiling at her.

"Well my mom used to be a singer and I was taking singing lessons in Cleveland until we moved." she said looking up at him.

"Why did you move from Cleveland?" he asked watching her.

"My parents got a divorce and my mom got a job here." she said looking down.

"I'm sorry." he said as he smiled at her.

"It's OK. Things weren't right with my parents for a while. Actually, I was kind of happy when they told me. Between the fighting and the not talking to each other, they were making me crazy." she said looking up at him.

"Do you know where we're going?" he asked looking over at her.

"I thought you knew." she laughed looking around.

"Great. We're lost. What's our address?" he asked laughing.

"238 Pinetree Rd." she said continuing to look around.

"Pinetree is the next street over." he smiled looking over at her.

"Oh, OK. See, we're not lost." she laughed as they walked over to the next block.

"Listen, me, June, Jimmy and Will walk to school together and I was thinking since you're in the band too now, we can walk to school together." Roger said looking over at her as they approached her house.

"I'd really like that. You guys are the first people I've met since we moved here." She said looking up at him as she walked up to her door.

"Um… I was thinking. There's a school dance on Friday night and I was wondering if you wanted to come? I mean, me and guys are going just to hang out but I would really like it if you came with me." He said looking down at her smiling.

"Yeah, I'd like that. Thanks Roger." She smiled looking up at him as her front door opened and her mother stepped out.

"Avalon, where have you been?" she asked looking down at her.

"Mom, what are you doing home so early?" she asked looking up at her.

"I thought since it was your first day of school, I'd come home early and make you a special dinner. But where have you been? I've been worried sick." She asked looking down at her with her hands on her hips.

"Mom, this is my friend Roger. Roger, this is my mom Sue Parker." Ava said looking up at her mother.

"It's nice to meet you Roger. How do you know Avalon?" Ms. Parker asked looking over up at Roger.

"We go to school together." Ava cut in before Roger could answer.

"Well that's nice. Would you like to come in for a soda or something?" Ms. Parker asked looking up at him.

"No, thank you Ms. Parker. I have to get home. My mom's making dinner and I have home work to do. I'll see you tomorrow Ava." Roger said smiling down at her.

"OK. Thanks again for walking me home Roger. I appreciate it." She smiled before going inside.

"He's cute." Ms. Parker said looking over at Ava.

"Yeah, he's OK." Ava said starting to go upstairs.

"Are you dating him?" she asked looking up.

"Mom, he's my friend. We just met." Ava told her looking down at her.

"Well, don't be surprised if he asks you out. I think he likes you." She smiled as Ava turned to go upstairs.

"I have homework to do. I'll be in my room." Ava said going to her room. She hated lying to her mother like that, but she knew how her mother would react to her joining a band and Roger being a musician. Her father's a musician and although he never cheated on her mother, she was not fond of musicians. She sat in her room thinking about Roger. He was so nice and her mother was right, he was cute. But he was her bandmate. So she had to keep things professional with him.

"Avalon, dinner." Ms. Parker yelled up the stairs as Ava closed her book and got up to go downstairs.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hi Avalon." Roger smiled as Ava came out of her house.

"Please don't call me that. I hate that name." she said propping her book bag onto her shoulder.

"Why? That's a really cool name. It's not an old man name like mine." he smiled looking down at her.

"Because it was my grandmothers name and they were from Ireland. I hate it. I just wish I had a normal name like Jennifer or something." she said looking up at him.

"OK, I'm sorry. I won't call you that anymore. I was thinking we could hang out after school today." he said looking down at her.

"I thought June had his guitar lesson today?" she asked looking up at him.

"He does, but I was thinking we could work on the most perfect song for you and me to sing together." he smiled looking down at her as they walked back towards Roger's house to meet up with June and Jimmy.

"Paradise by the Dashboard Light." she smiled looking up at him.

"Yeah. How did you know?" he asked looking at her.

"Because I've been thinking about that song too. It would be awesome." she laughed looking up at him.

"OK, so we can work on it after school." he smiled as Ava stopped him at the corner.

"Roger, I'm sorry about yesterday. You know, about not telling my mom that we're in a band. You see, my dad's a musician and my mom wouldn't be crazy about me being in a band and hanging out with you guys if she knew." she said looking up at him.

"It's OK Ava. I knew it was something like that. Don't worry about it." he smiled looking down at her.

"Thanks Roger. You're really cool. I'm really glad we're friends." she smiled looking up at him before starting to walk again.

"Me too." he said quietly before following her. He wanted to be more with her though. That's why he asked her to the school dance, but he chickened out and made up a stupid excuse about wanting her to go because the rest of the band was going.

"Hey Ava. I didn't know you were walking with us." Jimmy said coming out of his house as they walked down the block.

"Yeah, Roger asked me." she smiled looking up at him as Jimmy smiled at Roger.

"Oh he did, did he now?" he teased looking over at him.

"Well we all live right here. Why should she have to walk to school alone?" Roger told him defensively.

"Good point Rog." he said sensing that there was more to it, but not wanting to push him.

"Where the hell is June? He's always late." Roger asked looking up at June's bedroom window. "June, let go man." Roger yelled looking up.

"I'm coming Rog. Geez, you are the most impatient person on the planet." he yelled as he finished getting ready.

"Oh come on June, you don't know everyone on the planet." Roger yelled as Ava and Jimmy laughed.

"Roger Aaron, must you yell at 7:30 in the morning." Mrs. Stevens yelled out the screen door.

"Sorry Mrs. Stevens." he said laughing as June came rushing past his mother out the door.

"Bye mom." he said as he joined Roger, Ava and Jimmy on the sidewalk. "Hey Ava. I didn't know you were walking with us." He said looking over at Roger.

"Well she is." Roger snapped looking at him.

"Cool." he smiled seeing Roger wanted the subject to drop.

"So what are you doing Friday night Ava?" Jimmy asked looking over at her as she walked next to Roger and June.

"Roger asked me to hang out with you guys at the dance." she said looking over at him as June looked over at Roger in disbelief.

"Well, I can't go. We're having dinner at my gramma's house for her birthday." June said looking up at Roger who looked relieved.

"Yeah, me neither. I have a huge English report due on Monday and I really gotta get some work done on it if I'm gonna be able to go to rehearsal on Saturday." Jimmy said looking down at Ava.

"That's too bad. I guess it's just me, Roger and Will then." she said looking up at Roger.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Will has to go someplace with is parents. I just found out last night." Roger said thinking fast.

"So I guess it's just you and me, huh?" she smiled looking up at him.

"I guess. Unless you doing wanna go now." he said looking down at her as June and Jimmy looked at one another.

"No, I wanna go. It sounds like fun." she smiled looking up at him as they approached the school.

"Well, if it isn't Transparent. In the flesh." Will called out funning up to them.

"Hi Will. Roger just told me about you not being able to go to the dance with us Friday night. That sucks." Ava said as Roger looked at him, his eyes wide.

"Um, yeah. Parents." he complained playing along with Roger.

"That's OK. Oh, I gotta go. I'm gonna be late for homeroom. See you guys later." she smiled before leaving to go inside.

"Bye Ava." Roger smiled looking down at Will hit him. "Ow, what the hell?" he asked looking over at him.

"Why does Ava think I can't go to the school dance?" Will asked looking at him.

"Because I kind of asked her to go with me and I told her we were all going, but I really want to go alone with her." he said looking over at him

"So why didn't you ask her to go with you as a date?" Will asked looking up at him.

"I was gonna but I punked out. I like her." he said looking up at him.

"So now, what are we supposed to do Friday night? Our parents think we're going to the school dance and now to cover your ass with Ava, we can't go." Jimmy asked looking over at him.

"I don't know, but I really want to be alone with her. So I would really appreciate it you guys didn't come." he said looking over at them.

"OK Rog. I think we can do that." Will smiled at him before they all went into the school.

"Thanks man." Roger smiled looking up at them.

* * *

"Are you dating Roger Davis?" Sophia asked as Ava entered her homeroom.

"No, we're just friends and I'm in his band. Why?" Ava asked looking over at her.

"Well it looks like he wants to date you." she smiled looking over at her.

"How do you know?" she asked looking up at her.

"Let's see, he walked to school with you and usually he doesn't pay attention to anyone but those dorks he hangs out with, but he couldn't stop looking at you." she smiled as they sat at their desks.

"You think so?" she asked smiling at her.

"I know so. Roger's really cute, and he likes you. You are so in." Sophia smiled looking over at her as the teacher entered the room and Ava just smiled.

* * *

"Hey Ava. I didn't know you had lunch this period." Roger said seeing Ava enter the lunch room.

"Roger, you have lunch this period too?" she smiled looking up at him.

"Yeah. I'm the only one who does. The other guys have lunch next period." he said smiling at her.

"Do you wanna eat together?" she asked looking up at him.

"I would love that." she smiled as they went into the lunch room.

"Ava, I was thinking. Instead of going to the dance Friday as friends, would you want to go with me as a date, or something?" he asked looking down at her.

"Roger, you wanna go on a date with me?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, I do." he smiled looking down at her.

"Then, OK. I'll go to the dance with you." she smiled looking up at him as he looked down surprised.

"Really?" he asked as his voice cracked.

"Yeah Roger. Really." she laughed looking up at him.

"Awesome. Um… do you wanna get out of here? Maybe go eat at McDonald's or something?" he asked smiling down at her.

"Sure, I'd like that." she smiled as Roger took her hand and they left the cafeteria.


	3. Chapter 3

"Roger, are we gonna get any rehearsing done or are we just gonna make out the whole time?" Ava asked laughing as they sat in the corner of the garage at the Davis house.

"I vote for making out." he smiled holding her face in his hands.

"Why am I not surprised?" she laughed looking into his mesmerizing green eyes.

"I don't know." He laughed kissing her again as the garage door opened. It was Roger's father. "My dad's home. Come on, I want you to meet him." he smiled excitedly kissing her again before taking her hand and helping her up.

"Hello Roger. Who's your friend?" Mr. Davis asked smiling at Roger who was standing by the hood of the car waiting for him to get out.

"Dad, this is my girlfriend Ava. Ava, this is my dad." he smiled looking down at Ava.

"Hi Mr. Davis. It's really nice to meet you." Ava said smiling at the older man.

"It's nice to meet you too young lady. My wife and son have been raving about you. I would love to hear you sing sometime." he smiled looking down at her.

"I would like that too Mr. Davis. Thank you." she smiled looking up at Roger.

"Would you like to stay for dinner Ava?" Mr Davis asked loosening his tie.

"No thank you, sir. I should be getting home anyway. Roger I'll see you in the morning, OK? It was really nice to meet you Mr. Davis." she said leaning up to kiss Roger before rushing out of the garage to go home.

"Dad, I'm gonna go…" he started before Mr. Davis cut him off.

"Go son. I'll tell your mom you'll be right back." he said quietly looking down at his son.

"Thanks dad." he said rushing out after Ava. "Ava. Are you OK?" he asked catching up to her.

"Yeah, I'm OK. It's just that your dad is so cool about you being a musician. My mom's a total idiot about it. As soon as she finds out that I'm singing with the band, I'm not gonna be able to see you anymore. She's gonna make me break up with you and I don't want to. I like being with you, but my dad is such a jerk and now we can't see each other." she rambled starting to cry.

"Ava, slow down. We're not gonna have to break up when your mom finds out about the band. I'll just have to hang around so much that she starts to love me and then when she does find out about the band, it won't matter because she already loves me. Don't worry Ava, everything's gonna be OK." he smiled taking her face in his hands and kissing her.

"Are you sure?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry about anything, OK?" he smiled caressing her cheek with his thumb.

"OK. Um, why don't you come to my house for dinner? My mom can start getting to know you." she suggested smiling at him.

"Let me just go see if it's OK with my parents. Come on." he smiled holding his hand out to her.

"OK." she smiled taking his hand following him to the Davis house.

* * *

"Mom, I'm home." Ava called out as she entered her house. She could hear her mother in the kitchen rattling around some pots.

"I'm in the kitchen dear. Do you know where we put the big pot? The one I always cook the spaghetti in?" she asked searching around the kitchen.

"It's in the cabinet under the microwave mom." she smiled standing in the kitchen in front of Roger.

"Hi Roger. It's nice to see you again." she smiled looking up at her.

"You too Ms. Parker." Roger said as Ava reached behind her back to take his hand in hers.

"Mom, Roger's my boyfriend." she said looking down at her mother who had started to stand up.

"Really? That's wonderful Avalon. It's nice to see you're fitting in so well here. You know, I was really worried about that." Ms. Parker said looking over at them as she leaned on the kitchen counter.

"Mom, is it OK if Roger stays for dinner? Please?" she asked looking up at her pleadingly.

"Sure sweetie. Why don't you two go up to your room while I start dinner? Just make sure you keep your bedroom door open, OK?" she asked looking up at Roger.

"Yes ma'am." Roger said smiling at her.

"Thanks mom. You're the best." she smiled before dragging Roger up to her room.

"This is a cute room." he smiled looking around her bedroom.

"Shut up. The girl whose room it was before me was 7. My mom and I haven't had a chance to redecorate yet." she laughed hitting him in his chest.

"Oww, why did you hit me?" he asked wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" she asked smiling up at him.

"No, but I like it better when we're doing this though." he smiled as he leaned in to kiss her.

"Roger, my mom could be up any minute and she's not gonna like us making out in my bedroom." she laughed looking up at him.

"You're right Ava. We're trying to get her to like me. This is not gonna do it." he smiled kissing her one last time before letting her go.

"OK, do you wanna listen to some music. I have the new Duran Duran record." she asked looking up at him.

"That sounds cool." he smiled looking over at her as he watched her put the album on the turntable and began to dance as the music started.

"What's the matter?" she asked smiling down at him as he sat on the floor next to her bed.

"Nothing. I'm just watching you." he smiled as she sat next to him.

"Do you like Duran Duran?" she asked looking up at him.

"Not really, but I like the way you look when you're dancing to it." he smiled putting his arms around her and holding her close.

"I have a lot of albums. We can look through them and you can pick out one you like if you want." she said looking up at him.

"Nah, it's OK. We'll listen to this." he smiled kissing her head as they listened to the record.

"Avalon, Roger dinner is ready." Ms. Parker called out up the stairs.

"OK Ms. Parker." Roger called out before leaning down to kiss Ava one more time before helping her up off of the floor.

"Thank you Roger. I appreciate you wanting my mom to get to know you better." she said looking up at him holding on to his arms.

"Well I like you Avalon." he smiled caressing her face with his thumb.

"Roger." she said looking up at him.

"What? I like your name. It's nice." he smiled leaning down to kiss her again.

"I do like the way you say it." she smiled looking up at him.

"I like saying it. Now come on. Your mom is waiting for us." he smiled taking her hand in his.

"OK." she smiled following him down the stairs.

"So Roger, tell me about your interests." Ms. Parker asked looking up at him as they started eating.

"I like listening to music and I write stuff. It's not much, but I enjoy it." he told her trying to beat around the fact that he is a musician without completely lying to her.

"That's nice. Avalon loves music too." Ms. Parker said smiling over at Ava.

"Mom, can you stop calling me Avalon please? You know how much I hate that name." Ava said looking up at her.

"I think it's a beautiful name Ava. Why do you hate it so much?" Roger asked before putting a fork full of spaghetti into his mouth.

"Avalon Donnelly. I sound so irish. Like the blond hair and the blue eyes don't give it away enough." she said looking over at him.

"Well Avalon was your grandmothers name and she was born and raised in Ireland." Ms. Parker said looking over at her.

"I know it was grandma's name, and it was probably cool when she was growing up in Ireland, but I just wish I had a normal name." she said looking across the table at her.

"I don't. I like your name. It's awesome. All the girls in our school are either named Margaret or Kelly or Linda. Your name stands out. I like it." Roger smiled as Ms. Parker looked up at him.

"Thank you Roger. See, your own boyfriend is telling you that you have a beautiful name. Why can't you see how truly beautiful your name is?" she asked looking over at Ava.

"Fine. But I still don't like you calling me Avalon all the time." she said looking up at her.

"Fair enough. If you want me to start calling you Ava, I will. But if I slip once in a while, please don't freak out on me, OK?" Ms. Parker said looking up at Ava.

"Thanks mom. I would appreciate that." Ava said smiling at her as they continued eating.

* * *

"Avalon. That should be your stage name. That would be an awesome stage name." Roger said looking down at Ava as they held hands walking to school.

"Oh yeah, that's a hot stage name. I was named after an old irish woman." she said looking up at him.

"But it's your name now Ava. And you are hot." he smiled stopping her in the middle of the sidewalk to hold her in his arms.

"Oh yeah, I'm really hot." she laughed looking up at him as he leaned in to her.

"You are beautiful and you have a kick ass rock chick voice. You are the hottest chick I've ever met." he said quietly before kissing her.

"I'm a hot chick?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, you're my hot chick." he smiled kissing her again.

"Hey Davis, Donnelly stop smooching in the middle of the sidewalk. We're gonna be late for school." Jimmy laughed running up behind them.

"Shut up Johnson. You're just jealous that you don't have a girlfriend." Roger saiid holding Ava in his arms.

"Oh yeah, I'm really jealous a girl isn't turning me into mush." he laughed looking over at them.

"I like how my girl turns me to mush." Roger laughed kissing Ava's head.

"Come on. We're gonna be late for school. June's bound to be ready when we get here and you can't yell at him like you do every morning." Jimmy laughed putting Roger in a headlock and walking him down the block as Ava laughed.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hurry up Ava. Roger will be here soon." Ms. Parker yelled up the stairs as Ava put her hair up.

"Mom, this is my first date with Roger, why are you so excited?" she asked running down the stairs.

"It's just so exciting for you two. You are so cute together." she smiled looking up at her. "You look so beautiful Ava." she smiled as Ava came into view.

"Do you mean it?" she asked looking over at her mother.

"Sweetie, Roger is gonna flip when he sees you." she said smiling over at her.

"You think so?" she asked smiling over at her.

"Absolutely." she smiled as the door bell rang. "There he is. Go back upstairs. You need to make an entrance." Ms. Parker said looking over at Ava.

"OK. Thanks mom." she smiled rushing up the stairs.

"Hi Roger. You look so nice." Ms. Parker said looking up at him as he stood in the doorway wearing dress pants and a black button down shirt.

"Thank you Ms. Parker. Is Ava ready?" he asked looking down at her.

"I think so. Avalon, Roger is here." Ms. Parker called out smiling up at Ava.

"Hi Roger." she smiled looking down as she came down the stairs. She was wearing a pretty pink skirt and a white sweater. She had on pink pumps and her hair was half up in a pony tail.

"Ava, you look so beautiful." he said smiling up at her.

"Thank you Roger." she smiled as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Roger, are you OK?" Ms. Parker asked smiling up at him.

"Um... yeah, I'm... you look so beautiful Ava." he smiled stumbling over his own words.

"Thank you Roger." she laughed looking up at him.

"I'm sorry Ava. Um... are you ready to go?" he asked smiling down at her.

"Yeah, I'm ready." she smiled looking over at her mother.

"Midnight, OK Roger?" Ms. Parker said smiling at them.

"Yes ma'am." he smiled still looking down at Ava.

"Come on Roger. We gotta go." she smiled looking up at him.

"Oh, right. Sorry." he smiled looking down at her as they left the house.

"Are you OK Roger?" Ava asked looking up at him as they stood on the sidewalk in front of Ava's house.

"Yeah, you just look so beautiful Avalon." he smiled sweeping her into his arms.

"Roger, we have to go to the dance." she laughed looking up into his gorgeous green eyes.

"I know. I just want to stare at you for a little while." he smiled looking into her blue eyes that were lined in black eyeliner.

"I like when you look at me." she smiled as he leaned in to kiss her.

"I like looking at you." he smiled holding her in his arms. "OK, we can go now." he smiled looking down at her.

"OK." she smiled kissing him one more time before they began walking to school.

* * *

"Hey Rog. Ava you look great. What are you doing with him?" Jimmy asked teasing Roger.

"Hey loser, she's my girl. Get your own." Roger smiled looking over at him.

"How come you get the hot rock chick?" Will asked looking over at Roger.

"Because I walked her home you lazy piece of crap." he teased looking down at Ava who was burying her face in his chest laughing.

"You guys are so bad." she laughed looking up at them.

"Hi Ava. Roger." Sophia said smiling at them.

"Hi Sophia." Ava smiled looking up at her with Rogers arm around her.

"You guys so so good together. I can't wait to hear you sing together." she smiled looking over at them.

"Thanks Sophia." Ava said looking up at Roger.

"Hey Sophia, do you wanna dance?" June asked looking over at her.

"Um, sure. I'd like that." she smiled as she and June began to dance.

"Do you wanna dance?" Ava asked looking up at Roger.

"To be seen with you looking like that? Yeah, I do." he smiled leaning down to kiss her before taking her hand and leading her to the dance floor. As they danced, all eyes were on them. They held each other and concentrated on each other like they were the only 2 people in the room.

* * *

"This was the most wonderful night of my life." Ava smiled sitting on the porch of the Parker house.

"Mine too. Did you see everyone? They were watching you all night." he smiled holding her in his arms.

"No they weren't." she said laughing looking up at him. "They were watching June and Sophia." she laughed as he played with her hair.

"Yeah, can you believe that? I can't believe they hooked up." she smiled kissing her head.

"I think it's cute." Ava smiled looking up at him.

"I'm sorry to crash your date, but it's almost 1 Ava." Ms. Parker said opening the door to the house.

"I gotta get home Baby. I'll talk to you tomorrow, OK?" he smiled looking down at her.

"OK. I'll talk to you tomorrow." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"Bye Ms. Parker. I'll see you tomorrow." Roger smiled looking over at her.

"Bye Roger." she smiled watching them as Roger still held Ava in his arms.

"Bye Avalon." he whispered leaning down to kiss her again.

"Bye Roger." she laughed as he rushed off the porch to run home.

"So, did you two have fun?" she asked as Ava watched him run down the street.

"We had the most amazing night mom. We danced all night." she smiled as Roger ran out of sight.

"You two really like each other, don't you?" she asked looking over at Ava.

"Yeah mom, we do. He's so sweet and funny and nice and he makes me feel like I'm the most beautiful girl in the world." she smiled looking up at her.

"I like Roger. He's a good kid. The kind you deserve Avalon." she smiled looking over at her as they went into the house.

"And I like it when he calls me Avalon. He makes me like my name." she smiled looking over at her.

"Are you and Roger singing together?" Ms. Parker asked looking down at Ava.

"Yeah. That's how we met. He put a flyer up at school looking for a lead singer and I went to his house to audition. I sung really great mom." she said looking up at her.

"Of course you did sweetie. You're a great singer. I'm proud of you, you know?" she smiled looking down at her.

"Really?" she asked looking up at her.

"Yes Avalon. Why didn't you tell me you and Roger were in a band?" she asked tucking the hairs that had fallen from Ava's pony tail behind her ears.

"Because I thought if you found out Roger was a musician like dad you wouldn't let me go out with him." she said as tears sprung to her eyes.

"Oh sweetie, you didn't have to keep that from me. I like Roger and I see how much he likes you. I would never tell you that you couldn't see him. I'm sorry you felt that way sweetie." she said putting her arms around her.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you mom." she said hugging her mother.

"It's OK sweetie. I understand, but I don't want you to get punished for mine and your fathers marriage not working out." she said kissing her daughters head.

"How did you find out about the band anyway?" she asked looking up at her.

"Mrs. Davis. I called her to tell her not to worry about Roger being home late and she asked if I wanted to come over tomorrow and watch you kids practice." she smiled looking down at her.

"Oh. Sorry I didn't tell you myself." she smiled looking up at her.

"That's OK sweetie. I understand." she smiled kissing her head again.

"And mom, thanks for calling Mrs. Davis so Roger didn't get in trouble for being home late." she said looking up at her.

"No problem sweetie." Ms. Parker said as Ava went upstairs to her room.

"Good night mom." Ava said before going into her room.


	5. Chapter 5

"Come on Baby, let's show them what we got." Roger said looking down at Ava as they stood next to the stage in the school auditorium.

"I don't know. I don't think I'm ready." she said looking around seeing all the other kids trying out for the talent show at school.

"You are so ready Ava. I promise. We're a shoe in for the show." he said smiling down at her.

"Are you sure? I mean really sure. I don't want to look like an idiot who is totally not ready up there." she asked looking up in to his green eyes.

"Baby, you're ready. Now come on, it's time to rock this place." he smiled leaning down to kiss her before taking her hand and leading her to the stage.

"Hi, we're Transparent. We're gonna do Goodbye to You." Ava announced into the microphone as the guys took their positions.

"OK Ava, go ahead." the teacher sitting in the front row said smiling up at them.

"Ready guys?" she asked looking back at them as they all smiled at her.

"Yeah, we're ready." Roger said looking up at her as they started the song.

"_Those times I waited for you seem so long ago, I wanted you far too much to ever let you go, You know I never got by, I feel it too, And I guess I never could stand to lose, It's such a pity to say, Goodbye to you, Goodbye to you, Could I have loved someone like the one I see in you, I remember the good times baby now, and the bad times too, These last few weeks of holdin' on, The days are dull, the nights are long, Guess it's better to say, Goodbye to you, Goodbye to you, Goodbye to you, Goodbye to you, 'Cause baby it's over now, No need to talk about it, It's not the same, My love for you's just not the same, And my heart, and my heart, And my heart can't stand the strain, And my love, and my love,  
And my love won't stand the pain, And my heart, and my heart, And my heart can't stand the strain,  
And my love, and my love, And my love..., Goodbye to you, Goodbye to you, Goodbye to you, Goodbye to you, Now, could I have loved someone like the one I see in you, Yeah, I remember the good times baby now, and the bad times too, These last few weeks of holdin' on, The days are dull, the nights are long, Guess it's better to say, Goodbye to you, Goodbye to you, Goodbye to you, Goodbye to you,  
Goodbye baby, So long, darlin', Goodbye to you." _They sung together. The teacher just sat and watched with a smile on her face. The other students who were in the auditorium exploded into applause.

"Guys, that was incredible." Sophia gushed rushing on stage.

"Thank you. You kids are in." the teacher smiled as Roger took his guitar off and placed it on the stand.

"We did it Baby." he smiled as he rushed over to Ava.

"Yeah we did." she smiled wrapping her arms around his neck as he picked her up.

"I love you Avalon." he said kissing her head.

"You... what?" she asked looking over at him.

"I, um... I love you Ava." he smiled putting her down as she looked at him surprised.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled holding his arms as she looked into his eyes.

"Yeah?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, I do. I love you Roger." she said leaning up to kiss him.

"I love you Ava." he whispered leaning down to kiss her before wrapping his arms around her waist and picking her up.

"OK guys, come on. We're done. Geez, I hate when they get like that." Will said smiling over at them.

"Oh, right. Sorry Will. Sorry Miss Constantine." Roger laughed taking Ava's hand and rushing off the stage.

"I can't believe we did it. We're in the talent show." June shouted picking Sophia up into his arms twirling her.

"You guys are great. Ava, you were incredible." Sophia laughed as June put her down.

"Thanks Soph." she smiled still looking up at Roger.

* * *

"Roger, what are you doing here?" Ava asked waking up as Roger sat on her bed.

"I wanted to see you." he whispered as he laid down next to her.

"Are you OK?" she asked scooting over to give him room.

"Yeah, I'm OK. I just couldn't sleep and I needed to see you." he smiled leaning down to kiss her as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you Roger." she whispered looking up into his eyes.

"I love you too Avalon." he smiled kissing her again. The longer they kissed the more passionate it became. "Ava..." he started before she cut him off.

"Roger, I want to be with you." she whispered looking up at him.

"Are you sure? I mean, we don't have to..." he said before she kissed him again.

"I want to Roger. I love you." she whispered as she began to take her pajama shirt off.

"I love you too Ava." he smiled as he took her face in his hands and kissed her slow and tender. As they made love for the first time, it was beautiful. It was the first time for both of them. When they were done, they laid in each others arms for a little while until they realized the time.

"Roger, you should go home. My mom'll be up soon." she said looking up at him.

"OK. I'll see you in a little while. I love you Ava." he smiled leaning down to kiss her before getting out of the bed.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled looking up at him as he snuck out the window. She couldn't believe Roger had snuck into her bedroom because he wanted to be with her. Ever since she and Roger met, she had never been happier. Not only was she singing in a band, but she was in love. As Ava lay in the bed thinking about what had just transpired between her and Roger her alarm went off.

"Avalon, are you up?" Ms. Parker asked knocking on the bedroom door.

"Yeah, mom. I'm up." she said beginning to get out of bed to go in the shower to get ready for school. When she got out of the shower, she started to get ready for school. She towel dried her hair and brushed it before getting dressed and rushing down the stairs for breakfast.

"Do you have all of your books?" Ms. Parker asked drinking her coffee.

"Yeah, I gotta go. Roger's gonna be here any minute. I'll see you after practice. Love you." she said putting her bowl in the sink before leaning over the counter to kiss her mother good bye.

"Oh, I'm working late tonight, so could you possibly eat at Roger's tonight?" she said looking down at her.

"Yeah, sure. Bye mom. I'll see you later." she smiled before rushing out of the house.

"Hi." Roger said looking down at her.

"Hi." she smiled before leaning up to kiss him. "Thank you for coming by last night." she smiled as he wrapped his arm around her.

"Are you OK?" he asked holding her.

"Yeah, I've never been better. You?" she asked looking up at him as they walked down the block to meet up with Jimmy, June and Sophia.

"I'm great. I've never been more great." he called out excitedly before spinning her to him to kiss her.

"I love you Roger." she laughed looking up at him.

"I love you too Ava." he whispered kissing her deeper.

"Roger, we have to go. We're gonna be late for school." she laughed looking into his green eyes.

"Eww, must you guys?" Maureen complained coming out of the house with Jimmy.

"Get used to it Reen. This is what you have to look forward to when you walk to school with the cool kids." Jimmy laughed propping his book bag onto his shoulder.

"What is she doing here?" Roger asked looking down at Maureen.

"She wanted to walk with us." Jimmy said looking over at her.

"Yeah, so get used to it Davis." Maureen said starting to walk down the block.

"Yeah well, I'm too happy for even her to piss me off today." Roger smiled looking down at Ava.

"What is it with you two? You're even more gross than usual." Jimmy asked looking over at them noticing they were happier than usual.

"Nothing, we're just young, in love and on top of the world." Roger smiled as they started walking.

"This is gonna be a long day, isn't it?" he asked looking over at them.

"Sorry Jimmy." Ava smiled looking up at Roger.

"Oh geez." he said as June came out of the house and they continued on to school.

* * *

"You did what?" June asked quietly looking over at Roger as they sat in English glass.

"I snuck out last night and spent the night with Ava." he repeated leaning over to him.

"Did you...?" he asked quietly leaning over.

"Yeah. It was amazing. She is so incredible. I love her June." he said as the teacher looked up.

"Yeah, and what if it doesn't work out with you guys? What about the band?" he asked whispered looking over at him.

"Don't worry so much June. I love her and she loves me. I wanna be with her June." Roger said looking up.at him.

"Yeah well, you gotta think about the band. We wanna go places." he said trying to keep his voice down but getting the attention of the kids in front of them.

"June, chill out. Everything's gonna be cool. Don't worry about it." he said looking up at him.

"I hope you two know what you're doing." he said sitting back in his chair.

"We do June. Don't worry." he smiled before sitting back in his chair and directing his attention to the front of the class room.


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you sure we're ready? I don't think I'm ready Roger." Ava rambled looking up at Roger from the side of the stage.

"Ava, you're ready. I think you're more ready then we are." he laughed looking down at her.

"No, I'm not. I'm so nervous. How am I gonna sing in front of all those people?" she asked looking up at him.

"Baby, please. Calm down. You're gonna be amazing. At least you better be, because you know June's guitar playing sucks ass." he joked looking down at her.

"Roger, you're not funny. I'm nervous as hell and you're making jokes?" she yelled looking up at him.

"I'm sorry Baby. You're gonna be great. I promise." he smiled leaning down to kiss her before wrapping his arms around her.

"I hope so." she said looking up at him.

"OK Baby, we're on. I love you." he smiled looking down at her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled leaning up to kiss him again before taking the stage.

"And now we have Transparent." Miss Constantine announced as they all took the stage.

"Ready?" Roger asked looking over at Ava.

"Yeah, I'm ready." she smiled looking over at him as the guys started playing.

"_I remember every little thing, As if it happened only yesterday, Parking by the lake, And there was not another car in sight, And I never had a girl, Looking any better than you did, And all the kids at school said they were wishing they were me that night, And now our bodies are oh so close and tight, It never felt so good, it never felt so right, And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife, Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife, C'mon, hold on tight, C'mon, hold on tight, Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night, I can see paradise by the dashboard light." _Roger sung smiling at her.

_"Ain't no doubt about it we were doubly blessed, 'Cause we were barely seventeen, And we were barely dressed." _Ava sung looking up at him.

_"Ain't no doubt about it, Baby got to go out and shout it, Ain't no doubt about it, We were doubly blessed." _they sung mesmerized by one another.

_"'Cause we were barely seventeen, And we were barely dressed, Baby don'cha hear my heart, You got it drowing out the radio, I've been waiting so long, For you to come along and have some fun, And I gotta let you know, No you're never gonna regret it, So open up your eyes, I got a big surprise, It'll feel all right, Well I wanna make you motor run, And now our bodies are oh so close and tight, It never felt so good, it never felt so right, And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife, Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife, C'mon, Hold on tight, C'mon, Hold on tight."_ Roger smiled singing to her as if they were the only ones in the room.

_"Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night, I can see paradise by the dashboard light, Paradise by the dashboard light." _As Roger and Ava sung, they stared at each other. They had been dating for 6 months and were in love. They felt on top of the world. They were playing the school talent show and they were in love. When they finished their song, they smiled at one another as the crowd went wild. As they left the stage Ava jumped into Roger's arms.

"Baby, we did it." she yelled holding him tight.

"No Baby, you did it. That was all you." he smiled leaning in to kiss her.

"Roger, that was incredible." she smiled looking into his eyes.

"Ava, you were amazing." June smiled looking down at her with his arm around Sophia.

"Thanks June. But it was you guys. You kept me calm." she smiled looking up at her friends.

"No way. Avalon, that was all you." Ms. Parker said as she arrived back stage.

"Hi mom. Did you see us?" she said looking up at her as she jumped excitedly into her arms.

"I saw you sweetie. You guys were great. I am so proud of you. All of you." she smiled looking up at the boys.

"Thanks Ms. P." Jimmy smiled looking down at her.

"Mom, did you see Roger? He was so amazing." she smiled looking up at him.

"No way Baby, you were the amazing one. I was just following you." he smiled wrapping his arms around her as he picked her up.

"You were all amazing." Mr. Davis smiled as he and Mrs. Davis made it back stage.

"Thanks dad." Roger smiled putting Ava down.

"You kids are a shoe in to win. I know it." Mrs. Davis added smiling at them.

"It doesn't matter. This was such an amazing night." Ava smiled looking up at Roger.

"We'll win Baby and it's all because of you." Roger smiled kissing her.

"And now the winner of the Hicksville High School talent show is... Transparent." Miss Constantine announced as they looked at each other excitedly.

"I told you. You kids were a shoe in." Mrs. Davis said looking over at them as Roger leaned down picking Ava up.

"We did it Roger." she called out laughing looking at him excitedly.

"No, you did it. You rocked." he smiled leaning in to kiss her.

"Come on you two. We gotta go out there." Will said patting Roger on the back.

"Right." he smiled letting Ava down. "I love you Baby." he smiled looking down at her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled as they took the stage again.

"Love?" Ms. Parker said looking over at Mr. And Mrs. Davis.

"Looks like we're in for it." Mr. Davis said looking down at her.

"Yeah, now we have to keep a closer eye on them." Mrs. Davis said looking over at them as they stood on stage accepting their prize.

* * *

"Roger, my mom's gonna be home any minute now. We have to get dressed. If she catches us up here while she's not home, I'm gonna be in huge trouble." Ava laughed looking up at him.

"Do I have to? I like laying here with you." he whined looking down into her bright blue eyes.

"I know, me too. But I do not want to get grounded." she said getting up beginning to get dressed.

"OK fine. I can't wait until we get a record deal and go on tour. We are so gonna share a room eveywhere we go." he smiled before getting up.

"Yeah we are." she smiled looking up at him as he got dressed.

"Baby, do you ever think about it? You know, when we get a record deal and stuff." he asked looking over at her at he pulled his sweatshirt over his head.

"Sometimes. Why?" she asked looking over at him.

"No reason. Just something June said." he said sitting on her bed putting his boots on.

"What did June say?" she asked sitting next to him.

"He just asked what's gonna happen if it doesn't work out with us." he said looking over at her.

"Why wouldn't things work out? Roger, I love you and you love me." she said looking over at him.

"I know. I do love you Ava. More than anything." he said putting his hand on her face before leaning in to kiss her.

"So why wouldn't thinks work out with us?" she asked looking up at him.

"No reason Baby. It's just June being June. He's worried about the band. Don't worry Baby. Everything is gonna be fine." he smiled kissing her again.

"OK. We have to get out of here. My mom's gonna freak if she catches us up here." she said looking over at him.

"OK Baby." he smiled looking over at him before they got up and left the bedroom.

* * *

"Mom, I'll be home later." Ava called out rushing down the stairs.

"Wait a minute. Where are you going?" Ms. Parker asked from the living room.

"Jimmy's having a party at his house. I'll be right down the block." she said putting her coat on.

"No drinking, no smoking and no drugs Avalon. I mean it." she said getting up off the couch.

"OK mom. No drinking, no smoking and no drugs. Gotcha. I'm not an idiot mom." she said smiled as the door bell rang. "Um, can I go?" she said looking over at the door.

"Yeah, you can go. Just be home by midnight." she said looking over at her.

"But mom, I'm 16 and I'm only gonna be right down the block." she said looking over at her.

"Fine. 1 o'clock, but if I smell alcohol or cigarettes on you, you're in huge trouble Avalon." she said as she opened the door.

"Thanks mom. I promise, I'm not gonna drink. See you at 1." she said looking over at her before she and Roger left the house.

"What was that all about?" he asked as she closed the door.

"My mom is letting me stay out until 1. But I can't drink or smoke." she smiled up at him wrapping her arms around his neck as they stood on the porch.

"That's good, because I sort of have something else in mind for tonight." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"Oh?" she asked looking up at him.

"Jimmy said we could use his parents room. There's a lock on the door and we can have our own party." he said smiling down at her.

"What about Maureen? Isn't she gonna rat us out?" she asked looking up at him.

"Don't worry about Maureen. I can handle her." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"OK, let's go." she smiled as they walked to Jimmy's house. When they arrived at the party they sat on the couch talking to everyone. Before long they were upstairs in Mr. And Mrs. Johnsons room.

"Here we are Baby. Our honeymoon suite." he smiled locking the door as Ava looked around.

"This is a really nice bedroom." she smiled as he came up behind her picking her up.

"Yeah, the bed is bigger than yours." he laughed bringing her to the bed.

"But I like my bed. I get to be closer to you." she smiled as he leaned in to kiss her passionately.

"Me too." he whispered continuing to kiss her as they began to make love. As they lay in the bed they held each other close. They talked about what they were gonna do when they became famous. Before they knew it, it was 12:45 and they had to start getting ready to leave.

"I don't want to go home. I wan to stay here all night with you." she said smiling up at him.

"I want to stay here all night with you too, but we have to go Baby. Otherwise, you're gonna get grounded and then we won't get to see each other. Only in school." he said leaning down to kiss her.

"But Roger, I like being here with you. I feel so safe with you." she said sitting up.

"I know Baby. I feel safe too." he smiled leaning up to kiss her. "I love you Ava." he whispered looking up at her.

"I love you too Roger." she said running her fingers through his hair.

"Now, come on. I have to get you home." he smiled looking up at her.

"OK Baby." he smiled looking over at him before they got out of the bed and getting dressed.


	7. Chapter 7

"Avalon, can I talk to you for a minute?" Ms. Parker asked entering the living room where Roger and Ava were watching tv.

"Sure mom. What's up?" she asked looking up at her.

"Can I see you in the kitchen please?" she asked standing in the doorway.

"OK. I'll be right back." she said looking over at Roger before kissing him and following her mother to the kitchen. "What's up mom?" she asked looking up at her.

"Your dad called. He's gonna be in town and he wants to see you?" she said sitting at the kitchen table.

"Why? I mean, why now? We moved here almost a year ago and now he wants to come and see me?" he said looking over at her.

"Avalon, he's still your father." she said looking over at her.

"But mom, he hasn't acted much like a father since we left Cleveland." she said leaning against the counter.

"Well honey, I can't make you see him, but I think you should think about it. Don't not see him because you're angry with him, OK?" she said getting up from the table to go to her.

"But mom, he knows nothing about me. I've only talked to him like, 3 times in the last year." she said looking up at her.

"Sweetie, just think about it, OK?" she said looking down at her.

"OK mom. I'll think about it. When is he coming?" she asked looking up at her.

"This weekend." she said playing with her hair.

"This weekend? Me and Roger have plans this weekend." she said looking up.

"Ava, it's your father." Ms. Parker said moving away from her.

"But mom, I have a life and I have a boyfriend. He can't expect me to break my plans just because he's decided to grace us with his presence." she said starting to pace the kitchen.

"Avalon Marie Donnelly." Ms. Parker said looking over at her.

"No mom. I mean, what did he expect? That I'd be sitting on the porch waiting for him to come for me? No. I have a life." she said looking over at her.

"Ava, just think about it. He'll be here saturday morning at 10." Ms. Parker said leaving the kitchen.

"Ugh." she said dragging her feet as she went back into the living room.

"Is everything OK Baby?" Roger asked as she re entered the living room.

"No. My dad's coming this weekend and he wants to see me." she said plopping back onto the couch.

"So, what are you gonna do?" he asked looking down at her.

"I don't know. I mean, we have plans this weekend. What does he expect, that I'm just gonna break all my plans just because he wants to see me? No, I'm not gonna do it. I haven't seen in in a year and now he's just gonna come here and I'm gonna put my life on hold for him?" she said as he put his arms around her.

"Ava, you really should see him. He is your dad." he said looking down at her.

"But Roger, what about our plans? We have practice on saturday and then we were gonna go to the movies and stuff." she said looking up at him.

"But Ava, it's your dad. You really should see him." he said looking down at her.

"That's easy for you to say. Your dad is awesome. And he's home every night. My dad acts like I'm an accessory in his life." she said getting up off of the couch.

"Well if you don't want to see him, just say you don't want to see him. But don't use me as an excuse to blow him off." he said getting up.

"I'm not using you as an excuse not to see my dad. It's just that he acts like I'm just waiting for him to want to see me and I'm not. I'm not a little kid. I know my dad cares more about his career than he does about me." she said looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Ava, give him a chance." he said looking down at her.

"Yeah and what if I get hurt Roger? At least with you I know I'm not gonna get hurt." she said looking up at him.

"If he hurts you, he'll have me to deal with. But you have to see him." he said wrapping his arms around her.

"I love you Roger." she said looking up at him as he reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"I love you too Ava." he smiled leaning down to kiss her before holding her tight.

* * *

"Ava, are you ready? Your dad should be here any minute." Ms. Parker called out from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah mom, I'm ready. But what does it matter? He's not coming." she said sitting on her bed looking at the pictures of her and Roger that were on her nightstand and her dresser.

"Sweetie, it's gonna be OK." Ms. Parker said standing in the doorway.

"How is it gonna be OK mom? It's almost 12 o'clock. He's not coming. I just wish Roger was here. At least I know I can depend on him." she said looking up at her with tears in her eyes.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry." she said sitting on the bed next to her.

"It's OK mom. He sucked you in too." she siad looking up at her.

"Do you want me to call Roger sweetie?" Ms. Parker asked playing with her hair.

"No, I'm gonna just go over there. I'll be back later." she said getting up.

"Ava, I love you." Ms. Parker said looking up at her.

"I know mom. I love you too." she smiled before leaving her room. She left her house and began walking to Rogers house. She couldn't believe her dad stood her up. She didn't know why she was surprised. When her parents were still together, he did it all the time. He would promise to take her out for ice cream or to the park and he wouldn't be home to come through on that promise. The more she thought about it, the more upset she got. She started crying. When she entered the Davis garage, Roger was sitting on a stool strumming his guitar. He didn't see Ava come in at first. "Roger." she called out crying as he looked up.

"Ava, Baby what happened? What did he do?" he asked putting his guitar down rushing to her.

"He didn't show up. The bastard stood me up." she cried as he brought her to his chest to comfort her.

"I'm so sorry Baby. If I knew he was gonna..." he started before she interrupted him.

"You didn't know Roger. And I was so stupid. I was hoping he changed, but he didn't. He's never gonna change. It's why we left him." she cried looking up at him.

"I'm sorry Ava. I'm so sorry." he whispered kissing her head as she cried into his chest.

"Roger, do you wanna...? Oh, sorry. Are you OK Ava?" Mr. Davis asked standing in the doorway of the garage.

"My dad, he stood me up." she said wiping her eyes.

"I'm so sorry sweetie. Listen, I was thinking of taking Roger to the batting range to hit some balls. Would you like to come with us?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, that's a great idea Baby. It's a good way to blow off some steam." he said looking down at her.

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude on your father son thing." she said looking over at them.

"Nonsense. You won't be intruding. It'll save me from hearing all about how great you are the whole time." Mr. Davis smiled looking over at them.

"Thank you Mr. Davis. I would really like that. I'm gonna go home and get changed. I'll be right back." she said leaning up to kiss Roger before leaving to go home.

"We'll pick you up in 10 minutes Baby." Roger said looking down at her as he watched her leave.

"I don't know how anyone could disappoint their child like that. Especially one as sweet as Ava." Mr. Davis said watching Ava rush down the block.

"Dad. Thanks." Roger said smiling at him before leaning over to hug him.

"You love her Roger, which means I love her too. She's a great girl Roger." Mr. Davis said hugging his son.

"I do love her dad." Roger said looking over at his father.

"I know son. Come on, go get changed. You can't wear your leather jacket and combat boots to the batting range." Mr. Davis teased looking down at him.

"OK dad. I'll be out in a minute." he smiled before rushing into the house.

"I can't believe that bastard stood her up." Mr. Davis said entering the house as his wife sat in the living room.

"What happened?" Mrs. Davis asked as he entered the living room.

"Ava's dad. He stood her up. You should have seen her Abby. She was so upset. How could a man stand up his little girl like that?" he asked pacing around the living room.

"I don't know Luke. She doesn't deserve that. She's such a beautiful, sweet girl. Look at the effect she has on Roger." she said looking up at him.

"Yeah, they're really in love. I can see it. Every time they look at each other. It's not the teenaged kind of love either. It's the real thing." he said looking over at her.

"But they're only 16 and 17 Luke. How could they be truly in love?" Mrs. Davis asked looking over at him.

"I don't know Abby, but they are. You should see how protective Roger is of her. I've never seen him so protective of anyone outside of his guitar." he laughed taking his wife into his arms.

"Do you think they're...?" she asked afraid to finish her question.

"Yeah, I think that's a safe bet. I'll talk to him. You know, make sure he knows how to be responsible and make sure we're not grandparents before he's out of high school." he said looking down at her.

"Dad, I'm ready." Roger called out as he came running down the stairs.

"OK son. I'll meet you out in the car." he said looking up at him.

"Dad, would it be OK if I meet you at Ava's house?" he asked tying his sweatpants.

"Sure Roger. I'll see you there in a few minutes." Mr. Davis smiled looking up at him.

"Thanks dad. You're the best." Roger yelled running out of the house.

"Good luck, you'll need it." Mrs. Davis laughed looking up at her husband.

"Nah, I think they'll be OK." he smiled leaning down to kiss his wife before leaving to pick Roger and Ava up.


	8. Chapter 8

"Ava, what are you doing?" Roger asked as he entered her backyard to find her crying in the corner of the back porch.

"My dad called." she said looking up at him as he sat next to her.

"What did he say?" he asked looking down at her.

"He wants to take me on tour with him this summer. He can't even take a day to come see me, but he wants me to go on tour with him from the summer." she said looking up at him. Her eye make up was smudged and her face was soaked with tears.

"Are you gonna go?" he asked looking down at her hoping her answer was no.

"I don't want to. But my mom said it's a great opportunity for me and my dad. He can't stand me up if I'm on tour with him." she said looking up at him.

"What do you think?" he asked putting his arms around her.

"I don't want to be away from you the whole summer." she said looking up at him as he wiped her tears from her face.

"But Ava, that's not what I asked you." he asked looking over at her.

"I know. I don't know what to do Roger. I mean, he's my dad and my mom has a point, but I don't want to be away from you all summer. I mean, it's the summer before senior year for you. We were gonna try to play some parties and stuff." she said looking up at him.

"Baby, if you wanna go on tour with your dad, I think you should do it." he said looking over at her.

"You won't hate me if I do?" she asked looking up at him.

"I could never hate you Ava. You're the love of my life." he whispered leaning in to kiss her.

"I wanna go Roger." she said looking up at him crying again.

"So go. Have fun." he smiled looking up at her wiping her tears with is hands. The fact that she was leaving for the summer was killing him inside, but he knew how important spending time with her father was.

"I love you Roger." she said wrapping her arms around his neck to hold him close.

"I love you too Avalon." he said holding back his own tears. "When do you leave?" he asked pulling back to look at her.

"Next week. After the last day of school. I'm gonna be gone until the middle of August." she said looking up at him. She could see the disappointment in his face. "I'm sorry Roger." she said looking up at him.

"Ava, don't you dare apologize for wanting to spend time with your dad. You need to spend time with him. I'll be OK. I'll miss you, but I'll be OK." he said wiping her face with his hands.

"I'm gonna miss you too Roger. I love you." she said leaning in to kiss him.

"I love you too Ava." he whispered taking her into his arms and holding her tight. He didn't want her to go. He didn't want to be without her, but he knew this was for the best. He knew she hadn't seen her father in over a year, but he remembered the disappointment that man had put her through the last time he was supposed to see her.

"Do you wanna do something tonight?" she asked looking up at him.

"Sure. Let me just go home and get changed. I'll pick you up at 6, OK?" he asked looking down at her.

"OK. I love you Roger." she said looking up at him.

"I love you too Ava." he said feigning a smile before leaning in to kiss her.

"I'll see you around 6." she said as they got up. Ava went into the house and Roger left to go home. As he walked home he couldn't help himself, he started to cry. The more he cried the faster he ran home. He needed to talk to his dad. When he entered the house he looked around.

"Dad, are you here?" he yelled looking around.

"Roger, what's the matter? Why are you yelling?" Mrs. Davis asked coming out of the kitchen.

"Where's dad? I have to talk to dad." he asked looking around.

"He's in the garage. What happened? Is it Ava? Is she OK?" she asked looking up at him.

"I just need to talk to dad." he said rushing to the garage. "Dad." he called out opening the garage door.

"Roger, what's the matter?" he asked looking over at Roger seeing that he was crying.

"It's Ava dad. She's leaving for the summer." he cried into his fathers shoulder.

"Where is she going?" he asked looking over at him.

"On tour with that idiot father of hers." he cried holding on to his fathers shirt.

"I'm sorry Roger. But he is her father. No matter how much you want to punch the guy in the face." he said as Roger looked over at him starting to laugh.

"Dad." he laughed looking over at him.

"What? I'm not allowed to want to punch that jackass in the face after what he did to her last time?" he asked laughing along.

"Go dad." Roger said looking over at him.

"But Roger, if this is what she wants I think this would be really good for her. She'll get to spend time with her father, which we both know she need." he said looking down at him.

"I know dad. But I really don't want her to leave. It's the summer before my senior year. I wanted to go crazy this summer." he said wiping his eyes.

"I know Roger. How long is she gonna be gone?" Mr. Davis asked looking over at him.

"She's leaving right after school lets out next week and she's gonna be gone until the middle of August." he said looking down.

"It'll be OK Roger. You'll see." he said hugging his son again.

"Thanks dad." he said looking over at him.

"Why don't you go get cleaned up and take your girl out for a special night." Mr. Davis suggested looking down at him.

"OK dad." he smiled going into the house and up to his room.

* * *

"Mom, do you think I'm making the right decision about going with dad this summer?" Ava asked looking over at her mother. 

"Sweetie, this isn't something I decide for you. Do you want to spend the summer with your dad?" Ms. Parker asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, I do. But I don't want to spend the summer with Roger too. It's our first summer together." she said looking up at her.

"I know sweetie, but this is a great opportunity for you and your dad to get to know each other again." she said sitting on her bed.

"You're right. But I'm gonna miss Roger." she said looking over at her.

"I know Ava, but you and Roger could use a little time apart. You have been spending everyday together since you started dating." she said looking over at her.

"I thought you liked Roger?" she asked looking over at her.

"I do sweetie. I really do, but you're 16 and 17. Don't you think you two are too young to be as serious as you are?" she said playing with her hair.

"But mom, Roger and I love each other. It's the real thing mom." she said looking over at her.

"I know you're in love. I just think you two could use time away from each other." she said looking over at her.

"You're right. Thanks mom. I have to get ready for my date with Roger tonight." she smiled leaning over to hug her.

"OK sweetie." Ms. Parker said getting up from the bed and leaving the room.


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm really gonna miss you Ava." Roger said standing on the porch with Ava.

"I know. I'm gonna miss you too Roger. I'll call you everyday, OK?" she said as with tears in her eyes.

"I'll be waiting." he said leaning down to kiss her.

"I love you Roger." she said holding him tight.

"I love you too Avalon. Have fun, OK?" he said kissing her head before letting her go.

"I will. I love you." she told him one more time before going to the limo.

"I love you Ava." he said watching as she got in and the limo drove down the block.

"Are you OK Roger?" Ms. Parker asked looking up at him.

"No. I won't be OK until my girl is back." he said looking over at her before walking down the stairs and starting to walk home.

"Are you OK Ava?" Mr. Donnelly asked looking over at Ava who was looking out the window quietly.

"Yeah, I'm OK dad. I'm just gonna miss Roger that's all. I'll be OK." she said quietly still looking out the window.

"Are you in love with that guy?" he asked looking over at her.

"Yeah dad, we are. We have been for a while now." she said looking over at him before turning back to the window.

"Is that the singer, guitar player your mom's been telling me about?" he asked looking over at her.

"Yeah dad. I haven't dated anyone else." she answered not looking at him.

"Oh OK." he said looking down. They rode the rest of the way to the airport in silence. Ava wasn't anticipating this being a good thing for them. She was willing to try, but she missed Roger so much and she had just left him 10 minutes earlier.

"Are you OK sweetie?" a beautiful leggy blond asked as they got out of the limo at the airport.

"Um... yeah, I'm fine." she said taking her bags and boarding the plane.

"Is she OK Frank?" the woman asked looking up at Mr. Donnelly.

"Yeah, she'll be OK. She just misses her boyfriend. Pretty soon she'll be having so much fun, she'll forget about that boyfriend of hers." he said looking over at the leggy blond before they both boarded the plane.

"Hey sweetie. Who's that handsome guy?" the leggy blond asked sitting next to her.

"My boyfriend Roger. He's gonna be a senior in the fall." she said looking at the picture.

"He's cute. How long have you two been dating?" she asked looking over at her.

"9 months." she said looking up at her.

"Are you two in love?" she asked leaning in to her.

"Yeah we are." she said putting the picture away.

"I'm Josie sweetie." the blond woman said introducing herself.

"Ava. I'm Frank's daughter." Ava said looking over at her.

"It'll be OK sweetie. You'll be back home with Roger before you know it. Just have fun now, OK?" she smiled looking over at her as Ava sat back in her seat.

"OK." Ava said looking out the window as the plane began to take off.

* * *

"Hey sweetie. Did you like your dads show?" Josie asked looking down at Ava.

"It was OK." she said looking up at her. She was holding a glass of some red drink. Ava just looked at it.

"Do you want one sweetie?" Josie asked smiling at her.

"Um... yeah, I do." she smiled as Josie handed her her drink. Ava lifted it to her lips and began drinking from it. It tasted really fruity and sweet.

"Do you like that sweetie?" Josie asked looking at her as she drank down the drink.

"Yeah, what is it?" she asked looking over at her.

"It's a vodka and cranberry juice. But you might want to slow down sweetie. You don't want to get trashed right away." she laughed looking down at her.

"Oh, sorry. It just tastes like cranberry juice." Ava said taking a breath from drinking.

"Yeah, but it'll knock you on your ass if you keep drinking like that." she smiled as Frank looked over at them smiling.

"Oh crap, my dad." she said handing Josie the glass.

"It's OK sweetie. Your dad parties too. I wouldn't have given it to you if I hadn't asked Frank first. He just wants you to have fun." she smiled as Frank approached them.

"Are you girls having fun?" he asked drinking light brown liquid that looked like iced tea but smelled horrible.

"Yeah dad. That was a great show." Ava said looking up at him.

"Thanks sweetheart. That means a lot. Did you call your boyfriend?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, I did it while you were on stage. He liked it too." she smiled looking up at him. She was starting to feel the alcohol take effect. She understood what Josie meant when she said it would knock her on her ass.

"Are you OK sweetie?" Josie asked seeing Ava's eyes glaze over.

"Um yeah. I think I just need to lay down." she said looking up at Josie.

"I'm gonna put this one to bed. I'll be out in a bit, OK Frank?" Josie said smiling up at him before taking Ava's arm and leading her to her hotel room. "OK sweetie, we're almost there." she said gently leading her down the hall.

"I'm sorry. I don't drink, so I guess I can't handle my alcohol too well." Ava said looking up at her as Josie opened her door.

"That's OK sweetie. By the end of this tour you'll be a pro. Your boyfriend is gonna be so impressed." she smiled helping her into her bed.

"Roger doesn't drink. I miss Roger. You know, we have sex?" she slurred looking up at Josie.

"Oh yeah? Is he any good?" Josie asked amused.

"I never did it with anyone else, so yeah." she giggled curling herself into a ball under the covers.

"Well good for you sweetie. By your age, I was a pro at that too." Josie laughed tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Me and Roger are in love. We wanna get married one day. And we're gonna be rich and famous." she smiled looking up at her.

"I bet you are sweetie. Why don't you get some rest, OK? I'll see you in the morning. I'll be the one with the fist full of asprin." Josie laughed looking down at her.

"OK. Good night Josie. Thank you." she mumbled before drifting off to sleep. Morning came too quickly for Ava. The sun was shining into the windows and the phone was ringing. At least she was hoping it was the phone. When she reached over to answer the phone she could barely talk. Her mouth was so dry she felt like she ate a bag of cotton. "Hello." he grumbled holding the phone to her ear.

"Good morning Baby. Did I wake you?" Roger asked on the other end of the phone.

"Um yeah. What time is it?" she asked looking around.

"It's 10:30 Baby. You must have been hanging out late last night." he said laying in his own bed.

"Yeah, you can say that. So what did you do last night?" she asked trying to sit up, but the pain in her head stopped her.

"Nothing, I stayed home. You called me last night, remember?" he asked sitting up in his bed.

"Oh right. Sorry I just woke up." she said playing it off.

"Are you OK Ava? You don't sound right." he asked confused.

"Yeah, I'm OK. I'm just tired." she said hoping that would satisfy him.

"OK, well I just wanted to hear your voice. I'll let you get back to sleep. I'll talk to you later, OK?" he said swinging his legs over the side of his bed.

"OK Baby. I love you. I miss you so much." she said propping her elbow up.

"I love you too Ava. I miss you so much too." he said leaning forward on his legs.

"Bye Roger." she said before hanging up the phone. As she laid back in the bed, she felt horrble for lying to Roger. But she didn't think he'd like the fact that she had gotten drunk the night before. He was very protective of her and she didn't want to upset him.

"Knock knock. Does anyone in here need some asprin?" Josie asked entering the room.

"Yeah, I could use about a bottle." she said trying to sit up without disturbing her head.

"Who was on the phone? That cute boyfriend of yours?" she pried smiling over at her as she sat on the edge of the bed handing her 2 asprins.

"Yeah, he just wanted to hear my voice." she said popping the asprins into her mouth before gulping down the glass of water Josie had given her.

"Did you tell him about your little adventure last night?" she asked smiling over at her.

"No. He's really protective of me. It would only upset him that I was doing it without him here to look out for me. He's really very sweet." she smiled looking over at the picture of Roger that was sitting on her nightstand.

"He does sound sweet. But you know, whatever happens on the tour, stays on the tour. So all bets are off." Josie laughed looking over at her.

"I'm not gonna cheat on Roger. I love him. He's the only guy I've ever loved and the only guy I ever want to love. And he loves me." Ava said looking over at her.

"OK sweetie. But just remember, you're here to have fun. Your dad tells me you have a great voice. Maybe you perform with him one night?" she suggested smiling at her.

"I'm in a rock band with Roger and few friends. Roger and I sing together. He's really great. That's actually how we met." she said smiling at her.

"That's sweet. Are you hungry? Your dad sent me up here to see if you want to come down for breakfast." she asked looking over at her.

"OK. I'll be down in a little while. Thanks for the asprin Josie. I appreciate you taking care of me like this. My dad isn't exactly the most parental person." she said smiling upat her.

"That's OK sweetie. I don't mind. But hurry up, OK? Pretty soon they're gonna be serving lunch and then no pancakes for you." Josie smiled before leaving the room. As Ava sat on the bed for a minute she picked up the picture of Roger and just looked down at it. She felt guilty for lying to him, but what else could she do. He was all the way in Hicksville. There was no reason to worry him for nothing. She had Josie looking out for her. She got out of bed and began to get changed to go downstairs to the dining room for breakfast.


	10. Chapter 10

"Baby, I am so glad you're home." Roger called out rushing to Ava as he and Ms. Parker waited at the gate in the airport.

"Roger, I missed you so much." she cried as they ran into each others arms.

"I.. missed.. you.. too." he said between kisses.

"Hello Avalon." Ms. Parker said standing aside.

"Hi mom. I missed you so much too." she smiled looiking down at her as Roger still held her in his arms.

"Roger, let the girl go. I'd like to hug my daughter." Ms. Parker laughed looking up at him.

"I don't want to let her go. I want her to stay here forever. You are not going anywhere ever again. Not without me anyway." he said looking down at her.

"I don't want to go anywhere without you." she smiled looking up at him.

"Good. Because I was a mess the whole time you were gone." he pouted looking down at her.

"It's true sweetie. You should have seen him. He must have come by the house everyday just to sit up in your room. It was pathetic really." Ms. Parker joked looking over at her as she wrapped her arms around her.

"Not pathetic. Sweet." Ava said smiling up at Roger.

"Come on, let's get you home. You should see what me and Roger did to your room." Ms Parker said smiling at her.

"What did you and Roger do to my room? I was getting used to the pink ballerinas." she laughed looking up at Roger.

"You're gonna love it Baby. I promise." he smiled wrapping his arms around her waist as they left the airport and got into Ms. Parkers car. As they rode home, Roger and Ava sat in the back seat in each others arms. Ava missed Roger so much. She was drinking every night on the tour to stop from missing him, but it didn't work. She missed him more. She couldn't wait until they could be alone and make love.

"OK what did you two do?" she asked as they pulled up to the house.

"You'll see Baby. Come on." he said taking her hand leading her up to her room. The door was closed. "Close your eyes Baby." Roger said with one arm around her waist as he covered her eyes with his other hand.

"Roger, I can't see anything." she laughed tilting her head back.

"That's the idea sweetie.." Ms. Parker said laughing as she opened the door.

"Tada." Roger called out taking hand off of her eyes.

"Oh my God, this is amazing." she said looking around. There were posters of Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, Patty Smythe, Lita Ford, and Duran Duran. There were also framed pictures of Transparent and of just Ava and Roger.

"You like it Baby?" he asked looking down at her.

"I love it." she smiled looking up at him.

"I helped too." Ms. Parker pouted playfully.

"I'm sorry mom, thank you. This is great. I love it. I actually have a grown up room now."'she smiled hugging Ms. Parker.

"I picked out the posters." Roger pouted now.

"You two are gonna drive me crazy." she laughed leaning up to kiss Roger.

"Well we missed you." Ms. Parker said laughing as Roger wrapped his arms around her.

"I missed you more." he whispered teasing Ms. Parker.

"No, you were just more pathetic about it." she teased smiling up at him.

"You two are really starting to scare me now." she laughed looking at them.

"Well he spent so much time over here, we really bonded." Ms. Parker smiled looking over at her.

"Well I'm glad. My two favorite people in the world getting along." she smiled looking up at them.

"I'm gonna go downstairs and make lunch. Why don't you unpack and I'll call you two when it's ready?" Ms. Parker said smiling at them.

"Thanks mom. I'm glad to be home. And not just because this is where Roger is." she smiled leaning over to hug her mother again.

"I'm glad you're home too." she smiled hugging her back before going downstairs.

"Hey Baby. I missed you so much." Roger whispered leaning down to kiss her passionately.

"You have no idea how much I missed you too Roger." she said breathlessly staring into his green eyes.

"I can't wait until later when we can really be alone and I can caress your beautiful body." he whispered into her ear.

"Me neither Roger." she whispered holding him tight.

"So tell me, how was the tour?" he asked reluctantly starting to let go of her.

"It was OK. I mean, I met this really great woman. Her name was Josie and she really looked out for me. I mean, my dad's not exactly the parental type so it was nice to have Josie around. We would sit up for hours talking about you. She thought you were cute. She said she liked the way I was when I was on the phone with you. She said I was always happier when I was on the phone with you." she smiled looking over at him.

"I love you Ava." he said laying in her bed as she began unpacking.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled looking over at her.

"So tell me, what did you do on the tour?" he asked putting his arms behind his head.

"Nothing much. I mean, my dad let me drink a little and it was cool, I guess." she said looking over at him as he bolted up in the bed.

"He let you what?" he asked looking over at her.

"Roger, it's not like I was by myself. I told you, Josie looked out for me. She was really great." she said looking over at him.

"Did you drink a lot?" he asked looking over at her.

"No, I didn't drink a lot. It was like 1 or 2 drinks a night. It was cool. I mean, I got buzzed really fast because I don't usually drink, but Josie was with me the whole time. Everyone else was a lot more drunk then I was." she said as he got off of the bed to go to her.

"Baby, I can't believe your dad let you drink. Are you gonna tell your mom?" he asked wrapping his arms around her.

"No. I'm not telling my mom. She'll only freak." she said looking up at him.

"But Baby..." he started before she cut him off.

"No, Roger please. Don't tell my mom, OK? I mean, it's not a big deal. Josie said I'm building up a tolerance for it. It's OK." she said looking up at him.

"OK Baby, I won't tell your mom. But you can't keep drinking, OK? Promise me." he said looking down at her.

"OK Roger, I won't." she said wrapping her arms around his waist and holding him close.

"Ava, Roger lunch is ready." Ms. Parker called out from downstairs.

"We're coming mom." Ava yelled looking up at Roger. "I'm fine Roger, OK? I promise." she said looking up at him.

"I love you Ava. I worry about you." he said looking down at her.

"I know, I love you too Roger." she smiled leaning up to kiss him before they went downstairs.


	11. Chapter 11

"Ava, what are you doing?" Maureen asked seeing Ava drinking from a small bottle in the girls bathroom.

"Nothing Maureen. What are you doing out here?" she asked closing the bottle and putting it back in her bookbag.

"What are you drinking?" she asked walking closer to her as Ava put a piece of gum in her mouth.

"Nothing. I have to get back to class." she said trying to push past her.

"I may only be in 10th grade, but I'm not stupid. You're drinking vodka, right?" she said stopping Ava in her tracks.

"Maureen, how do you...?" she started asking before Maureen cut her off.

"My uncle drinks vodka. He thinks no one could smell it, but we can." she said looking over at her.

"You're not gonna tell Roger, are you?" Ava asked looking over at her.

"No, but I think you should. He loves you. He wouldn't like you doing this to yourself." she said looking over at her.

"I'm fine Maureen. Don't worry about it." she said looking over at her before leaving the bathroom. Maureen was really worried about Ava. She didn't know whether to tell Roger or let Ava. She did her business and went back to class.

* * *

"Hey Baby." Roger smiled leaning down to kiss her as she pulled away. "What's the matter Ava?" he asked looking down at her.

"I think I'm coming down with something. I don't want you to catch it. One of us has to sound great tomorrow night." she said covering up.

"Maybe you should take tomorrow night off if you're not feeling well." he suggested looking down at her.

"Nah, I'm OK. I just need to rest tonight." she said looking up at him.

"OK. Do you want me to drop you off right after school today?" he asked looking down at her.

"Um yeah, I think that might be best." she said looking up at him.

"OK Baby." he said putting his arms around her as they began to walk home. When Ava got home she went straight to her room and reached under her bed.she had been taking her mother's vodka and hiding it. She started drinking from the bottle until it was half empty. She closed the bottle and laid down in her bed and fell asleep. Roger was worried about her, so he went back to her house to check on her before Ms. Parker returned home from work. Ava had been acting strange lately. When he went upstairs, he entered the bedroom and saw Ava's body strewn across the bed. When he leaned down to straighten her out he smelled the alcohol. "Ava. Ava, wake up." he said taking her face in his hands. When she did not respond, he called 911. "Yeah, um... my girlfriend is passed out. I thin she might have alcohol poisoning." he said into the phone. The operator assured him that an ambulance was on the way and everything was gonna be fine. As he waited for the ambulance he began searching her room. He looked under he bed and found numerous bottles of vodka under it. Just as the ambulance arrived, Ms. Parker pulled into the driveway.

"Avalon. Avalon are you here?" she called out as she entered the house.

"Up here Ms. Parker." Roger yelled from Ava's bedroom.

"Roger, what happened?" she asked rushing up the stairs.

"I don't know. I dropped Ava off a little while ago because she said she wasn't feeling good and then I came by to check on her and I found her like this. She won't wake up." he cried looking over at his love. His beautiful Ava.

"What are those?" she asked looking over at the vodka bottles laying on the floor next to the bed.

"I found them under her bed. She's been drinking. I don't know how much or for how long. Oh man, how did I not see this?" he asked himself as the paramedics put Ava onto the gurney.

"What's her name?" the female paramedic asked looking up at them.

"Avalon. Avalon Donnelly." Roger said looking over at them as they began to bring her out.

"How did this happen? Did you know about this Roger?" Ms. Parker asked crying with him.

"I knew she drank when she was out on tour with Mr. Donnelly, but I made her promise me that she wouldn't do it again. And she did. She told me she wouldn't. I swear, I didn't know she was still drinking." he cried as they followed the paramedics out of the house. Ms. Parker rode in the ambulance as Roger followed them closely in his car. When they got to the hospital, the paramedics brought Ava to the back to be examined. Ms. Parker and Roger had to wait outside.

"Roger, how long has this been going on?" Ms. Parker asked looking up at Roger with tears in her eyes.

"I don't know. She's been weird since she got back from the tour. I mean I knew she drank on the tour, but she promised me she wouldn't do it again. How did I let this happen? I should have seen it." he said running his fingers through his hair as tears streamed down his face.

"Roger, this is not your fault. You didn't know. I can't believe Frank exposed her to that. He's her father. I never imagined he would be this irresponsible. She's only 16 years old. I can't believe this is happening." she said looking up at him.

"But I should have done something. She's been weird, but she just kept telling me she was coming down with something or that she was tired. I had no idea this is what she was hiding." he said sitting in the chair with his head in his hands crying.

"Mrs. Donnelly?" the doctor called out as Ms. Parker rushed over to them.

"Yes." she said as she and Roger went to him.

"How is she? Is she OK?" Roger asked standing next to Ms. Parker.

"She had alcohol poisoning. We administered medication to absorb the alcohol. Did either of you know she was drinking?" he asked looking up at Roger.

"She started drinking this summer when she went away with her dad, but when she came back she hid it pretty well." Roger answered looking over at him.

"Are you her boyfriend, um.. Roger?" he asked looking down at the chart.

"Yeah I am. I found her." he said running his fingers through his hair.

"She's been asking for you." he said looking down at Ms. Parker.

"Can I see her?" he asked looking over at her.

"Yeah, go ahead. Just tell her I'm here and I'm not mad at her, OK?" Ms. Parker said leaning up to hug Roger as she wiped her eyes.

"OK. Thank you Ms. Parker." he said quietly before following the doctor back to where Ava was. "Ava." he called out rushing to her bedside. She was wearing a hospital gown. She looked so pale under the lights.

"Roger. I'm sorry. I don't know what..." she started before breaking down.

"What were you thinking? How long have you been doing this?" he asked looking up at her as he sat in the chair next to her bed.

"Since I got back this summer." she cried looking over at him as he grabbed her hand.

"How could you be so stupid Ava?" he asked looking up at her.

"What?" she asked looking down at him.

"You could have killed yourself." he said standing up.

"I wasn't trying to hurt myself Roger. I just drank too much. I'm fine." she said looking over at him.

"And I'm supposed to feel better that you almost drank yourself to death on purpose?" he asked looking down at her.

"I'm sorry I scared you Roger. I didn't mean to." she said looking up at him.

"Yeah well, you almost died Ava. I don't think you realize how serious this is. I almost lost you Ava. You're the love of my life and you almost died." he cried looking down at her.

"Roger, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do this. I'll stop, OK? I promise I'll stop. No more drinking." she cried looking up at him as he sat back down next to her.

"You promised you wouldn't drink when you got back from the tour, yet here we are." he said looking over at her.

"I'm sorry Roger. It's just, when I was with my dad, everyone was having so much fun and we were all drinking and stuff and I liked it. And then when I came home and promised you I wouldn't drink anymore, I wasn't gonna. But then I saw my moms vodka in the kitchen and I couldn't help it. I started drinking it." she cried looking over at him.

"Have you been drinking in school?" he asked looking over at her.

"A little. Maybe I went overboard today. But I'm OK, I mean my grades are fine and we're fine, right?" she asked looking up at him.

"Are we OK? I mean, Ava you barely let me near you these days and we haven't had sex since last week. You don't talk to me anymore." he cried taking her hand.

"I'm sorry Roger. I'm so sorry. I've must been going through a lot lately. I mean, when I was on tour with my dad, he dumped me off with Josie while he partied, so I partied too to spend some time with him. And even then he had Josie hang out with me. I shouldn't have gone. I knew he was gonna do that to me. He always did." she cried as he leaned up to hold her in his arms.

"I love you Ava. You don't have to do anything to make me love you. I already do. I just need you to be you. That's who I fell in love with. My rock chick." he cried as they held each other.

"I know Roger. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. Do you hate me?" she cried looking up at him.

"I told you before Ava. I could never hate you. I love you so much." he said caressing her face.

"Does my mom hate me?" she asked looking up at him.

"Of course not. She's worried about you. She loves you more than anything." he whispered holding her close to him again.

"Can I see her? Please. I need to talk to her." she cried looking up at him.

"OK Baby, I'll go get her. I love you Ava." he said kissing her head.

"I love you too Roger." she said looking up at him before he left the room to get Ms. Parker.

"She wants to see you." Roger said quietly as he entered the waiting area.

"Is she OK? Did she say anything?" she asked looking over at him as he sat in the chair.

"You should go in and talk to her." he said resting his elbows on his legs as he buried his face in his hands.

"Is she OK Roger? Talk to me." she asked sitting next to him.

"You really should talk to her Ms. Parker. She needs to talk to you." he said looking up at her.

"Roger, she loves you you know. I don't think she meant to hurt herself." she said looking down at her.

"I love her so much Ms. Parker. If anything happened to her..." he started before breaking down.

"I know Roger." she said holding him in her arms.

"I wanna marry her Ms. Parker. I know we're too young now, but I wanna marry her one day. I just can't stand the thought of anything happening to her." he said looking over at her.

"I know sweetie. She's my little girl. When I get my hands on Frank, I'm gonna kill him for what he did to her." she said caressing his hair.

"Me too." he cried holding on to her tight.

"We'll get her through this Roger. I promise you that. We love her and we'll get her through this." she said kissing his head as he cried.


	12. Chapter 12

"Are you OK Baby?" Roger asked as he helped Ava out of the car.

"Yes Roger, I'm fine. Really. I can do this by myself. I wasn't shot." she said looking up at him smiling.

"That's not funny Ava." he said taking her arm.

"I know, I'm sorry. But I'm fine." she said looking up at him.

"Roger, why don't you take Ava up to her room. I'll make her some soup." Ms. Parker said looking up at him.

"Mom, I don't need soup. I'm fine. I have homework to do." she said starting to go upstairs.

"I'll go with you." Roger said as Ms. Parker watched them go upstairs.

"Roger, I don't need a babysitter, you know?" I'm not gonna get drunk if I'm by myself." she said looking back at him.

"I know you're not. Me and your mom got rid of all the liquor you had in here. And all the liquor she had in the house." he said sitting on her bed.

"Roger, I promised you I wasn't gonna drink anymore. You don't trust me now?" she asked looking over at him.

"Ava, I just want to do what's best for you and this is what's best." he said looking up at her.

"I know. I'm sorry I yelled at you." she said sitting next to him.

"Ava, I love you. I don't want anything happening to you." he said putting his arms around her.

"I know. Are you still coming to the AA meeting with me tonight?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, of course I am. My parents are coming over for dinner and then my dad's gonna take us." he said looking down at her.

"Why is your dad taking us? I thought my mom was gonna take us." she asked looking up at him.

"My dad has experience with this stuff." he said looking down.

"What do you mean?" she asked confused.

"My dad quit drinking 10 years ago. He was really out of hand with it when I was younger. I don't remember most of it, but he said it was pretty bad." he said getting up from the bed.

"I'm sorry Roger. I didn't know." she said looking up at him.

"Yeah well, he stopped drinking and now he's better. He still goes to meetings sometimes. But mostly to help people. That's why I don't drink." he said looking down at her.

"Roger, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to do this." she said looking up at him crying.

"I know you didn't." he said kneeling in front of her taking her into his arms.

"I'm not gonna drink anymore Roger. I promise. I don't ever want to put you through that again." she said sliding off of the bed to sit on the floor with him.

"OK Baby. I know. I love you so much. I'll do anything for you." he said looking over at her as he brought her onto his lap.

"I love you so much too." she said laying in his arms as he leaned against her nightstand. Soon they both fell asleep.

"Roger, Ava get up." Ms. Parker whispered shaking Roger's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Ms. Parker. We were talking and we must have fallen asleep." he said looking up at her.

"It's OK sweetie. Your parents are here." she said smiling down at them.

"OK mom, thanks." Ava said looking up at her.

"Get cleaned up, OK? Dinner will be ready soon." she smiled before leaving the room.

"I miss waking up with you in my arms." Roger smiled looking down at her.

"Me too Baby." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"I missed kissing you too." he smiled taking her face in his hands.

"I'm sorry for everything Roger. I really am." she said caressing his face.

"Forget about it Baby. We'll get through this together." he said kissing her again before they got up to go downstairs.

"Hi Mr. And Mrs. Davis." Ava said coming down the stairs with Roger.

"Hi sweetie. Are you feeling OK?" Mr. Davis said hugging her.

"Yeah, I'm OK Mr. Davis." she said hugging him back. In the time she and Roger had been dating, Mr. Davis had become like a father to her. She wished he were her father. He was so attentive and enjoyed spending time with Roger and his friends.

"You look good Ava. I'm so glad you're home." Mrs. Davis said hugging her .

"Thank you Mrs. Davis." she said hugging her next.

"Dinner's almost ready. Why don't we all into the living room and talk?" Ms. Parker said smiling at them.

"OK." Roger said taking Ava's hand and leading her to the couch.

"Ava sweetie, we all love you very much and we want to do what ever we can to help you get through this." Mrs. Davis said looking over at her.

"Thank you Mrs. Davis. I love you all too. I know I'm sick and I want to get better." she said looking up at Roger before looking over at them.

"Ava, I'm gonna take you two to an AA meeting. Do you know what to expect?" Mr. Davis asked looking over at her.

"No, I don't." she said as Roger put his arm around her holding her close to him.

"Well, your gonna be in this big room with other alcoholics and they're gonna talk about different things. What makes them drink? Why they drink? How they feel when they drink? Stuff like that." he said leaning towards her.

"Are you gonna be there?" she asked as tears came to her eyes.

"Of course I am sweetie. I'm gonna be with you every step of the way." he said reaching over to take her hand.

"OK. I'm really sorry everyone. I didn't mean to let any of you down." she told them beginning to cry.

"Sweetie, you could never let any of us down. We all love you very much." Mr. Davis said leaning over to hug her.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Davis." she cried as Roger buried his face in his hands to hide that he was crying too.

"Avalon we love you so much. We just want you to get better." Ms. Parker said looking over at her.

"I know mom." she said looking over at Roger seeing that he was crying. "Roger, I'm so sorry." she cried wrapping her arms around him.

"I love you so much Ava." he cried holding her tight.

"I love you so much too Roger." she said as they cried together.

"Dinner's almost ready." Ms. Parker said wiping her eyes before going into the kitchen.

"OK mom." she said looking up at Roger.

"I do love you Avalon." he whispered taking her face in his hands.

"I know Roger. I love you too." she said leaning up to kiss him before they went to the dining room to eat dinner. After dinner Mr. Davis brought them to their first AA meeting. Ava was really scared but she had Roger and Mr. Davis by her side. Listening to everyone's stories made her think of her own story. She had a loving, affectionate boyfriend, a mother who loved her very much and supported her in anything she did and the Davis' who loved her as if she were their own family, but she almost threw it all away to fit in with her absentee father and his friends. When the meeting ended they got up and left.

"Are you OK Ava?" Mr. Davis asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, I'm OK Mr. Davis. It's just a lot to take in, you know?" she said as Roger held her around her waist.

"Everything's gonna be OK Ava, I promise. Me and my dad'll help you through this. We're not going anywhere." he said looking down at her.

"I know. Thank you Roger. I'm glad I have you in my life." she said looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

"You will always have me in your life Ava." he said holding her in his arms.

"I know Roger." she smiled looking up at him as he wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Who wants to go for coffee?" Mr. Davis asked looking over at them.

"I would like that Mr. Davis. Thank you." Ava answered as they went to the car.

* * *

"Are you OK Ava?" Maureen asked as they walked to school.

"Yeah Maureen. I'm fine. Thank you." she said looking over at her. Maureen looked so concerned for her. Ava and Maureen had become friends since Maureen had started walking to school with them.

"Hey Ava, are you coming to my party friday night?" Jimmy asked looking over at her.

"I don't know. I don't think it's a good idea since I don't drink anymore." she said as Roger held her hand.

"You know I never have any alcohol at my parties. Otherwise, my parents would never let me have them anymore." he said looking down at her.

"Do you want to go?" she asked looking up at Roger.

"Whatever you want to do Baby. I'll go if you go." he said smiling down at her.

"OK. I'll go. Thanks Jimmy." she smiled looking up at him as they continued to walk to school.

"Hey, we're still friends, right?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, we're still friends Jimmy." she smiled looking up at Roger.

"Good." he smiled as they approached the school.

"Are you OK Baby?" he asked as she looked up at the school.

"Yeah, I'm OK. I'm just nervous about going in there after what happened." she said looking up at him.

"I know, but everything's gonna be OK. I'm gonna be around and you can always call my dad if you need to talk to someone and you can't find me." he said looking down at her.

"I know. I love you Roger. Thank you for taking care of me." she said as he turned to face her.

"Ava, you don't have to keep thanking me, OK? I love you. That's why I take care of you." he said looking down at her.

"I know. But thanks just the same." she said looking up at him.

"No problem Baby. Anything for my girl." he said leaning down to kiss her before they went into the school.


	13. Chapter 13

"Hi, I'm Ava and I'm an alcoholic." she said standing up in front of the AA group.

"Hi Ava." everyone greeted looking up at her.

"Um, I'm 16 years old and I had my first drink this summer when I went on tour with my dad. He's a musician, so after his shows him and his band would party. The first thing I drank was vodka and cranberry and I liked it. I drank every night when we were on tour. I lied to my mom and my boyfriend about it. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but to spend time with my dad, I did it. It made me feel good. I mean, I was missing my boyfriend and then I'd be hanging out with everyone and we were drinking and having fun. When I got home, I told my boyfriend and he made me promise not to drink again, but I couldn't help it. I felt like I needed to drink. Only I didn't do it to have fun this time. I did it when I was alone. I did it to forget about how my dad made me feel. The day my boyfriend found me passed out on my bed from alcohol poisoning is when everyone found out about my drinking. The doctors said I almost died. I didn't want to die. I mean, my mom's not a horrible person and I have the greatest boyfriend in the world who treats me like a princess and great friends who love me, so why would I drink, right? I mean, my dad disappointed me so many times that it made everyone hate him. I hated him too. But he was my dad and I wanted to fit it. Why would it matter that my dad's a scew up when I have all of those people who love me? I didn't know either, but I just felt like I couldn't talk to anyone about him. He's my dad and everyone hated him for how he treated me. I hated him for how he treated me, but I felt closer to him this past summer when I was drinking with him and his friends." she said looking over at Roger with tears in her eyes. "But when I almost died, I realized what I was doing to the people who loved me. I also realized I don't need to drink. All I need is my friends, my family and my boyfriend. They're all there for me when I need them and they won't judge me. They just love me for who I am." she said before sitting down again.

"Thank you Ava. I think that's all the time we have tonight. Why don't we finish up with the serenity prayer?" the organizer suggested as everyone stood up and held hands to say the serenity prayer. As the meeting let out Roger looked down at Ava.

"Are you kids ready for coffee?" Mr. Davis asked looking over at them.

"Um, dad would it be OK if Ava and I walked home from here? I wanted to talk to her." Roger asked looking over at his father.

"Sure Roger. I'll see you at home. You did really great Ava. I'm proud of you." he said looking down at her.

"Thank you Mr. Davis. I'll see you later." she smiled looking up at him. "What's the matter Baby?" she asked looking up at Roger.

"I wanted to get you alone. I haven't been alone with you for a while." he said looking down at her.

"I know. I'm sorry Roger. A lot's been going on and I just..." she started before he but her off with his lips.

"I miss you Avalon." he whispered caressing her face.

"I miss you too Roger." she smiled looking up into his green eyes.

"Can we go somewhere? I mean just you and me." he asked looking down at her.

"I would really like that." she smiled as they began to walk towards the school. "What are we doing here?" she asked looking up at him.

"I just figured I wanted to be alone with you and this would be the last place anyone would look for us." he smiled sitting on the grass in front of the school.

"Roger, when you said you wanted to me alone with me, this was not what I expected." she smiled looking up at him.

"I just want to talk. We have plenty of time to catch up in other ways." he smiled as she sat in front of him between his legs facing him.

"Oh yeah?" she laughed leaning in to kiss him.

"Yeah." he smiled kissing her again. "I wanted to talk to you about something." he said looking over at her.

"What is it Roger?" she asked looking into his green eyes.

"Um... you know I'm graduating this year, right?" he asked running his fingers through her hair.

"I know." she said looking down.

"Well, I wanted to wait a year to go to college so we can go to the same college." he said looking over at her.

"Roger, I don't think that's such a great idea." she said moving off of his lap.

"Why? I mean Baby, think about it. We wanna be together, right? I wanna wait for you to go to college." he said as she started to stand up.

"Roger, I don't want you to put your life on hold for me. You've been doing that since I went into the hospital. I mean, you haven't played with the band and you're too good and smart." she said walking around the grass.

"But Ava, I don't want to go without you." he said standing up.

"You have to go without me Roger. I have one more year until I graduate and if you wait for me, you're never gonna go. You go and I'll go with you when I graduate." she said looking up at him.

"But Ava, what's gonna happen to you when I leave? I don't want to leave you." he said holding her hands.

"I have my mom and your parents. I'm not gonna go back to drinking Roger. We'll still be dating. You'll just be going away to college." she said looking up at him.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you Ava." he said looking down at her.

"Roger, I'm fine. I haven't wanted a drink in 3 months and I have my meetings. You shouldn't have to put your life on hold for me. Especially college." she said looking up at him.

"Are you sure Ava? Because if you want me to, I'll stay for you. I'll do anything for you." he said looking down at her.

"I know you will and I love you for it. I love you for a lot of things. But what kind of girlfriend would I be if I let you put off college for me?" she asked looking up at him.

"I just want to be here with you Ava." he said taking her face in his hands.

"Don't worry Roger. I'll always be your girl." she smiled looking up at him.

"You better believe you are." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"Roger, I wanna sing again." she said looking up at him.

"Are you sure you're ready Baby?" he asked looking down into her bright blue eyes.

"Yeah I'm ready. I've never been more ready. I wanna be on stage with you again." she smiled lookig up at him.

"OK, we'll practice tomorrow." he said smiling down at her.

"Yeah?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah, we're gonna perform together again." he laughed leaning down to pick her up.

"Yay." she called out laughing before kissing him.

* * *

"Are you sure this is such a good idea Roger? She hasn't performed for months." Mr. Davis asked sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Dad, she's done everything we asked her to do and she's still sober. If she's ready to sing again. I wanna sing with her. I miss being on stage with her." he said looking down at his father as he stood in the doorway of the Davis living room.

"Yes she has Roger and she's making great progress, but do you think her being on stage singing is good for her at this stage of her recovery?" he asked looking up at him.

"Yeah dad, I do. She really wants to do it and I want her to do it." he said moving towards him shoving his hands in his pockets.

"How do you think she's doing Roger?" he asked looking up at him.

"I think she's doing great dad. I mean, she's like the old Ava again. Only she's finally dealing with her feelings about her dad." he said sitting next to him.

"OK then, I'm behind her. But Roger, the first sign of difficulty, she's on the bench again." he said looking over at him.

"Thanks dad. I really appreciate this." he said leaning over to hug him.

"I am really proud of the way you've been there for her. You two haven't missed a meeting in 3 and a half months." he smiled looking over at him.

"I love her dad. I wanna marry her when we get out of college." he said looking over at him smiling.

"You're still going to college?" Mr. Davis asked surprised.

"In the fall, yeah. I wanted to wait another year until Ava graduates but she won't let me. She said she didn't want me to put my life on hold any more than I already have for her." he said looking over at her.

"Well she loves you too Roger. I could always tell that." he smiled looking over at him.

"Yeah she does dad. I'm a lucky guy." he smiled looking over at him.

"Yeah you are Roger and she's a lucky girl." he smiled sitting back on the couch.

"I'm gonna go upstairs to bed, OK? I love you dad." Roger smiled getting up.

"I love you too son. Goodnight." he smiled as Roger rushed up the stairs.


	14. Chapter 14

"Baby, I was thinking about something." Ava said looking down at him as she propped her head on her elbow laying next to him in her bed.

"What Baby?" he asked leaning up to kiss her.

"I want to write a song with you." she smiled caressing his face.

"You do? I thought you hated the song writing aspect of music." he asked looking up at her rolling over onto his side to face her.

"I don't hate it. I'm just not that good at it. And you're great. With you, I think we can write one hell of a song." she smiled as he wrapped his arms around her to pull her close to him.

"I would to love write a song with you Ava." he smiled leaning in to kiss her again.

"Really? I mean, really?" she asked excitedly looking over at him.

"Yeah really. I would be honored to write a song with you." he whispered kissing her as they made love again.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm gonna perform again." Ava smiled looking up at Roger from the side of the stage.

"Are you OK Ava?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, I'm great. I'm just excited." she smiled looking up at him as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Oh God. I did not miss this." Jimmy said rolling his eyes laughing.

"Jealous." Roger laughed looking over at him.

"Nauseous." Jimmy countered as June and Will laughed with him.

"OK you guys. We're going on in 5 minutes and we have to prepare." Ava laughed looking up at all the boys.

"Ava, we just wanted you to know that we missed you and we're glad you're back." Jimmy smiled looking down at her as the other guys nodded.

"Thanks Jimmy. I'm really glad to be back." she smiled looking up at him as Roger leaned down to kiss Ava's head.

"We're really proud of you Baby." Roger smiled looking down at her.

"I'm pretty proud of myself. Now let's get out there and kick some ass." she laughed looking up at him.

"Are you sure you don't want to do the new song?" Roger asked looking down at her.

"I'm positive. I don't think it's ready yet." she said looking up at him.

"Baby, it's ready. But if you don't feel comfortable doing it, we won't do it." he said taking her face into his hands.

"Thank you Roger. I love you." she smiled looking up at him.

"I love you too Ava." he whispered leaning in to kiss her.

"Come on, you two. We're on." Will told them smiling.

"Thanks Will." Ava smiled as Roger held her in his arms.

"Welcome back Baby." Roger smiled taking her hand and leading her on the stage.

"Hi, we're Transparent." Ava smiled as the crowd began cheering. She turned around towards Roger to hear he was cheering loudest of all. As the applause died down the guys started the music and Ava began singing. 2 songs into the performance Ava approached Roger. "I think we should do the new song." she smiled looking over at him.

"Are you sure? I thought you said it wasn't ready?" he asked looking down at her.

"I thought you said it was?" she laughed looking up at him.

"OK, let's do it." he smiled caressing her face.

"OK, this is a new song that we've never done before. Roger and I wrote it together. I hope you like it." she smiled looking back at Roger as they started the song. _"I've got a dream 'bout an angel on the beach, and the perfect waves are starting to come, his hair is flying out in ribbons of gold, and his touch has got the power to stun, I've got a dream 'bout an angel in the forest, enchanted by the edge of a lake, his body's flowing in the jewels alive, and the earth below is starting to shake, but I don't see any angels in the city, I don't hear any holy choirs sing, and if I can't get an angel, I can still get a boy  
and a boy'd be the next best thing, the next best thing to an angel, a boy'd be the next best thing, I've got a dream 'bout a boy in a castle, and he's dancing like a cat on the stairs, he's got the fire of a prince in his eyes, and the thunder of a drum in his ears, I've got a dream 'bout a boy on a star, lookin' down upon the rim of the world, he's there all alone and dreamin' of someone like me,I'm not an angel but at least I'm a girl, I've got a dream when the darkness is over, we'll be lyin' in the rays of the sun, but it's only a dream and tonight is for real, you'll never know what it means, but you'll know how it feels, it's give me be over (over), before you know it's begun, (before you know it's begun), it's all we really got tonight, stop your cryin' hold on (tonight), before you know it it's gone (tonight), tonight is what it means to be young, tonight is what it means to be young, let the rebels begin, let the fire be started, we're dancing for the restless and the broken-hearted, let the rebels begin, let the fire be started, we're dancing for the desperate and the broken-hearted, let the rebels begin, let the fire be started ...(tonight is what it means to be young...), we're dancing for the restless and the broken-hearted...(before you know it it's gone...), let the rebels begin, let the fire be started...(tonight is what it means to be young...), we're dancing for the desperate and the broken-hearted...(before you know it it's gone...), say a prayer in the darkness for the magic to come, no matter what it seams, tonight is what it means to be young, before you know it it's gone ...(tonight is what it means to be young...)  
tonight is what it means to be young...(before you know it it's gone...), before you know it it's gone, I've got a dream when the darkness is over, we'll be lyin' in the rays of the sun, but it's only a dream and tonight is for real, you'll never know what it means, but you'll know how it feels, it's give me be over (over), before you know it's begun (before you know it's begun), it's all we really got tonight, stop your cryin' hold on (tonight), before you know it's gone (tonight), tonight is what it means to be young  
tonight is what it means to be young..., let the rebels begin, let the fire be started, we're dancing for the restless and the broken-hearted, let the rebels begin, let the fire be started, we're dancing for the desperate and the broken-hearted, let the rebels begin, let the fire be started ...(tonight is what it means to be young...), we're dancing for the restless and the broken-hearted...(before you know it it's gone...), let the rebels begin, let the fire be started...(tonight is what it means to be young...), we're dancing for the desperate and the broken-hearted ...(before you know it it's gone...), say a prayer in the darkness for the magic to come, cause no matter what it seams, tonight is what it means to be young ...(tonight is what it means to be young...), no matter what it seams...(tonight is what it means to be young...), tonight is what it means to be young ...(tonight is what it means to be young...), no matter what it seams ...(tonight is what it means to be young...), tonight is what it means to be young...(tonight is what it means to be young...), no matter what it seams ...(tonight is what it means to be young...), tonight is what it means to be young...(tonight is what it means to be young...), no matter what it seams ...(before you know it it's gone...), tonight is what it means to be young..., let the rebels begin, let the fire be started ...(tonight is what it means to be young...), we're dancing for the restless and the broken-hearted...(before you know it it's gone...), let the rebels begin, let the fire be started...(tonight is what it means to be young...), we're dancing for the desperate and the broken-hearted ...(before you know it it's gone...), the things they say, and the things they do, nothin's gonna stop us if our aim is true..., the things they say, and the things they do, nothin's gonna stop us if our aim is true..., the things they say  
and the things they do, nothin's gonna stop us if our aim is true..., let the rebels begin, let the fire be started ...(tonight is what it means to be young...), we're dancing for the restless and the broken-hearted...(before you know it it's gone...), let the rebels begin, let the fire be started...(tonight is what it means to be young...), we're dancing for the desperate and the broken-hearted ...(before you know it it's gone...), let the rebels begin, let the fire be started ...(tonight is what it means to be young...)  
we're dancing for the restless and the broken-hearted...(before you know it it's gone...), let the rebels begin, let the fire be started...(tonight is what it means to be young...), we're dancing for the desperate and the broken-hearted ...(before you know it it's gone )." _Ava and Roger sung with such energy and confidence. When the song ended the crowd went wild. "Thank you. Good night." Ava yelled over the crowd as she dove into Roger's arms.

"Baby, that was amazing. I told you it was ready." he smiled holding her in his arms.

"It was. Oh my God, I can't believe it. That was amazing." she smiled holding him tight.

"Ava, Roger that was incredible. I'm so proud of you both." Mr. Davis smiled looking over at them.

"Thanks dad." Roger laughed putting Ava down.

"Thanks Mr. Davis." Ava smiled looking up at him with Roger's arms still around her.

"Didn't mine and Ava's song come out great?" Roger asked smiling down at Ava.

"It came out amazing." Ms. Parker smiled reaching out to hug them.

"Thanks mom." Ava smiled looking up at her.

* * *

"Ava, telephone." Ms. Parker called out at 10 am on a saturday morning.

"Thanks mom." she yelled picking up the phone as she laid in her bed. "Hello?" she said into the phone.

"Baby, I'm coming over, OK?" the voice said excitedly as Ava sat up in her bed.

"Baby? Who is this? Will?" she asked teasingly running her fingers through her hair.

"You're not funny Ava." he smiled as Ava started laughing.

"I'm sorry Roger. I guess I've been spending too much time with you and the guys, huh?" she laughed taking the blanket off of her legs.

"Yeah, apparently." he laughed sitting on the edge of his bed. "Um, I'm coming over, OK?" he asked again looking at an envelope in his hand.

"OK, just give me 5 minutes. I just woke up." she smiled swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"OK, I love you Ava." he smiled looking at the pictures of him and Ava that were in his room.

"I love you too Roger. I'll see you in a bit." she smiled before hanging up the phone. It was 10 o'clock in the morning. Roger was never up at 10 o'clock in the morning on a saturday morning. Whatever he wanted must have been urgent. She got dressed and brushed her long blond hair. As she put it in a pony tail she heard the doorbell ring. "I got it mom. It's Roger." she yelled running down the stairs.

"Morning Baby." he smiled before leaning down to pick her up and kiss her.

"Good morning yourself. What's so important that you're up at 10 on a saturday morning?" she asked laughing holding on to him tight.

"This is." he smiled putting her down taking the white envelope out of his back pocket.

"What is this Roger?" she asked looking down at it.

"Look at the envelope." he smiled as she turned it over to see the return address. It was from Boston University.

"What does it say?" she asked looking up at him.

"I don't know, I haven't opened it. See?" he said looking down at her as she flipped the envelope over to see that it wasn't opened.

"Why didn't you open it yet?" she asked looking up at him.

"Because I wanted to open it with you." he smiled closing the door behind him and leading her into the living room.

"So let's open it." she smiled looking up at him as they sat on the couch.

"You open it. I can't. I'm too nervous." he told her rubbing his hands together.

"Are you sure?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, you open it." he smiled as she tore the envelope open.

"Roger Davis, we are pleased to inform you... you're in." she yelled as he jumped up in excitement.

"Oh man. Baby, this is great. And next year when you get in, we'll be going to the same school." he shouted picking her up into his arms.

"Roger, I'm so proud of you." she smiled holding him tight.

A/N: The song used in this chapter is the inspiration for the story itself. Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young by Fire Inc. from the 80's movie Streets of Fire. I hope you enjoy it.


	15. Chapter 15

"Ava, are you OK?" Ms. Parker asked hearing Ava crying in her bedroom.

"Roger got into Boston University." she cried looking up at her.

"Oh honey, I thought that was what you wanted, so you two could go to the same school next fall?" she asked sitting on Ava's bed.

"It is, but I mean he's gonna be so far away and I'm gonna be here. We're not gonna be able to see each other all the time like we are now." she cried burying her face in her pillow.

"Ava, it's only gonna be for a year and it's not like you two will never see each other. He can drive home on weekends and breaks to see you. Everything is gonna be OK." she said caressing her back.

"I know, but I just don't like the thought of being away from him mom. I love him and he loves me." she said looking up at her.

"I know sweetie, but you can't expect him to wait for you to go to college. That wouldn't be fair to him." she said looking down at her as she swept her hair out of her face.

"He wanted to, but I told him I didn't want him to. He's so smart mom. I don't want him to wait for me. He's put his life on hold for me long enough. He stopped playing with the band the whole time after I got out of the hospital and everything. I'm just scared." she said looking up at her.

"Scared of what Avalon? Talk to me." Ms. Parker asked as Ava sat up.

"I'm scared that with Roger in Boston, he's gonna find a college girl and dump me." she cried looking up at her.

"Sweetie, you know that would never happen. Roger loves you so much. You're the only girl for him." she said caressing her face.

"Yeah, now. But he's still in high school. What's gonna happen when he goes and sees all the other girls there are out there? What if he realizes that he's missing out on all those other girls?" she asked leaning in to her.

"Sweetie, you know that's not gonna happen. You know Roger would never cheat on you. He loves you." she said looking down at her.

"But mom, I'm still scared." she cried looking up at her.

"Ava, what else are you afraid of?" Ms. Parker asked looking down at her.

"Nothing else." she said sitting up.

"Ava honey, are you afraid you're gonna start drinking again when Roger goes away to college?" Ms. Parker asked looking over at her.

"A little. I mean, Roger's supported me and has been with me every step of my recovery and I'm just scared without him around, I might start drinking again and I don't want to." she said looking over at her.

"Sweetie, you do know that you can call him anytime. And besides him, you have me, and Mr. And Mrs. Davis still here to help you. They're not gonna turn their back on you just because Roger goes away to college." she said looking over at her.

"I know, but Roger's different. I mean, I know you and Mr. And Mrs. Davis are always there for me, but Roger makes me feel safe, you know? I mean, not that you guys don't, but I can't explain it." she said wiping her eyes.

"You don't have to sweetie. I understand what you mean. He's your boyfriend and he's closer to your age so he understands the pressures you have to face at parties to drink." she said looking over at her.

"Yeah, but it's more than that mom. I just can't explain it." she said looking over at her.

"Sweetie, have you talked to Roger about this?" she asked looking over at her.

"No and I don't plan on it either. I don't want him to give this up for me." she said getting off of the bed.

"Ava you shouldn't keep this from him. You start keeping secrets and you will go right back to drinking. You know that." Ms. Parker said looking up at her.

"Telling him would only hurt him in the long run and I don't want to do that to him. I love him too much mom. He needs to do this for himself. He's been taking care of me long enough." Ava said looking down at the picture of Roger that was on her dresser. He was holding his guitar in the garage smiling at Ava as she took the picture.

"He takes care of you because he loves you. I think you should tell him how you feel." she said looking up at her.

"No mom. I can't tell him. And you can't tell him either. Please. I won't have him putting off college for me and that's that." Ava said getting more upset.

"OK sweetie. I won't tell him, but I think you should." she said getting up from the bed going to her.

"It's not a good idea mom. I can't do that to him." she said quietly crying into her mothers shoulder.

"Everything's gonna be OK sweetie. We'll get through this. I promise." she said comforting her.

* * *

"Are you sure you have everything?" Ava asked looking up at Roger as they stood outside his car that was filled with things he was bringing up to college.

"No. I wish I could take you with me." he said quietly looking down at her.

"Roger I love you." she whispered holding back tears.

"I love you too Avalon." he whispered taking her face in his hands before leaning in to kiss her.

"I'm gonna miss you so much." she told him beginning to cry.

"I'm gonna miss you too Ava." he said taking her into his arms. "Are you sure you want me to go? I can wait until next year." he said looking down at her.

"No Roger, you have to go. We'll see each other all the time." she said wiping her eyes as she looked up at him.

"I'm gonna come home every chance I get. I promise." he said kissing her head.

"I know and we'll talk on the phone every day, right?" she asked looking up at him.

"Of course we will." he said smiling down at her.

"I hate to break this up you two, but you have to get going Roger if you're gonna beat the traffic to Boston." Mr. Davis said coming down from the porch.

"OK dad. I love you Ava." he said leaning down to kiss her.

"I love you too Roger. Call me when you get there, OK?" she said looking up at him.

"I will, I promise." he said holding her in his arms.

"You better go Roger." she said patting his chest.

"Bye Baby. I'll call you." he smiled looking down at her.

"OK. I love you Roger." she told him as he got in the car.

"I love you too Ava. I really do." he said looking up at her before pulling away.

"Are you OK sweetie?" Mr. Davis asked putting his arm around her shoulders.

"No." she answered beginning to cry as she buried her face in his chest.

"It's gonna be OK Ava. Don't worry about anything. You always have us. We're always here for you." he said comforting her.

"Mr. Davis, can we go to a meeting tonight? I feel like I need a meeting." she asked looking up at him.

"Sure sweetie. We can do that. Why don't you come in the house and we can have some dinner? Abby made your favorite." he smiled looking down at her.

"Yeah, I'd like that. Let me just call my mom and tell her, OK?" she said looking up at him.

"Abby already called her. She's gonna be here in a few minutes." he smiled kissing her head.

"Thanks Mr. Davis. I don't know what I would do without you." she smiled looking up at him.

"Well luckily you don't have to find out." he said smiling down at her before they went into the house.

"I'm just gonna go up to Roger's room for a little while. Let me know when dinner's ready, OK?" she said looking up at him.

"Sure sweetie. Just let me know if you need anything, OK?" he said looking down at her.

"I will. Thanks again Mr. Davis." she said going up the stairs to Roger's bedroom. When she opened the door it was half empty. Roger had take all of his pictures of Ava with him. She laid down on his bed and started crying again. They had made love in that bed many times over the last year and a half. She felt so safe in that bed and now she was laying in it alone missing Roger. Before long she had cried herself to sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

"What do you mean you can't come home this weekend? Roger I barely see you." Ava asked sitting on her bed talking to Roger.

"I'm sorry Baby. I have this term paper due on monday and I really need to get it done. It's worth half my grade." he said sitting at his desk in his dorm.

"But Roger, I need to see you." she said getting upset.

"I know Ava, I'm so sorry. I need to see you too. But I have to get this paper done." he apologized rubbing his eyes.

"I know and I'm sorry. I just miss you so much Roger." she told him holding back her tears.

"I miss you too Ava. You have no idea how much I miss you, but college is harder than high school. I can't afford to fail this semester." he said leaning back in his chair.

"I understand Roger. I love you." she said looking up at the pictures of Roger on her wall.

"I love you to Ava. I really do. I'll be able to come home next weekend, OK?" he said looking over at the picture of Ava on his desk.

"OK. I'll talk to you later Roger." she said before hanging up the phone before laying down and crying into her pillow.

"Roger's not coming home this weekend, is he?" Ms. Parker asked entering Ava's bedroom seeing her crying on her bed.

"No. He has a term paper due on monday and he needs to get it done. It's worth half his grade." she cried looking up at her.

"I'm sorry sweetie." she said comforting her.

"It's OK. I mean, college is harder than high school." she cried looking up at her.

"Is he coming home next weekend?" Ms. Parker asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, he said he would." she said looking up at her wiping her eyes.

"Are you OK sweetie?" Ms. Parker asked looking down at her.

"Yeah mom, I'm fine." she said looking up at her as Ms. Parker played with her.

"Sweetie, everything's gonna be OK, you know?" she said looking down at her.

"I know mom. Um, I'm gonna go for a walk, OK? I need some air." she said looking over at her.

"Do you want me to go with you sweetie?" she asked looking down at her.

"No, I'll be OK. I'm probably gonna go see Mr. Davis or something. I'll be home in a little while." she said looking up at her.

"OK sweetie, just be careful, OK? I love you." she said looking up at her as she got off of the bed.

"I know mom. I love you too." she said leaving her bedroom. As she walked to the Davis house she began thinking. She wished she had let Roger take the semester off to wait for her to go to college. She missed him so much. She had been thinking more and more about drinking. As she rang the doorbell she remembered all the times she had rung the doorbell and Roger answered the door. She wanted so badly for Roger to answer the door this time too, but he didn't. It was Mr. Davis on the other side of the door.

"Ava, are you OK?" he asked looking down at her seeing her eyes. They were red and swollen.

"Roger's not coming home this weekend." she said starting to cry.

"Oh sweetie, come on in." he said opening the door wider.

"I need Roger Mr. Davis." she cried as he took her into his arms.

"I know Ava. I'm so sorry." he said hugging her tight.

"Can you take me to a meeting tonight? Please. I need to go to a meeting tonight." she asked looking up at him.

"Of course sweetie. I'll do anything for you. You know that." he said looking down at her as Mrs. Davis watched from the doorway of the living room.

"Thank you." she said looking up at him wiping her eyes.

"Ava, would you like a cup of tea? Coffee? Anything?" Mrs. Davis asked looking over at her.

"Tea sounds great Mrs. Davis, thank you. I'm sorry I keep showing up on your doorstep like this. You guys should be going out and having time alone together, but you can't with me stopping by every other day crying because my boyfriend is in Boston in college." she said looking over at Mrs. Davis.

"Avalon Marie Donnelly, you are part of this family too. I may not have given birth to you, but you're like my own daughter. You have no reason to apologize for coming here when you need us. We love you and we always will." Mrs. Davis said wrapping her arms around Ava and holding her to her.

"Thank you Mrs. Davis. You're the best. No wonder why you have such a great son." she smiled looking up at her.

"And you are a great girl. No wonder why our son loves you so much." she smiled caressing her hair.

"I'm gonna call your mom, OK? She's worried about you." Mr. Davis said looking over at them.

"OK, thanks Mr. Davis." Ava smiled looking over at her as she and Mrs. Davis went to the kitchen for tea.

* * *

"How are you doing Ava?" Maureen asked seeing Ava sitting alone on the bleachers outside the school.

"I'm OK. I miss Roger, but I'm OK." she said looking up at her.

"Don't worry sweetie. Before you know it Roger'll be home for the summer and then the next time he goes, you'll be going with him." she smiled sitting next to her.

"I can't wait. This is killing me. I'm having a really tough time Maureen. I miss him so much. I must have been to 3 meeting already this week." she said starting to cry.

"But sweetie that's good, right? I mean, you know you're vulnerable to drinking so you're doing what you have to not to drink." she said putting her arm around her.

"I'm trying, but I can't stop thinking about it." she saiid looking up at her.

"Do you wanna talk to someone? I can get Will if you want?" Maureen suggested looking over at her.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. I can't keep bothering Mr. And Mrs. Davis." she said looking up at her.

"OK. I'm gonna go get him, OK?" she said looking over at her.

"Thanks Maureen. I appreciate it." she said looking over at her before Maureen got up to get Will.

"I found him." Maureen said dragging by his arm.

"Hi Will. I'm sorry Maureen had to bother you." Ava said looking up at him as he climbed onto the bleachers to sit next to Ava.

"That's OK. She only saved me from study hall. Are you OK?" he asked looking over at her.

"No, I'm having a really tough time and I can't keep bugging your aunt and uncle about it." she said looking over at him.

"You know Aunt Abby and Uncle Luke love you. They don't mind you stopping by whenever you need to." he said looking over at her.

"I know, they're great. Really. It's just I feel really bad. I mean, they're only child goes away to college, so they should be spending time together, but they're stuck taking care of their sons alcoholic girlfriend." she said as tears filled her eyes.

"It's OK Ava. I'm right here. You can lean on me, OK?" he said putting his arms around her to comfort her.

"Thanks Will. I'm sorry you have to take care of your cousins girlfriend." she said looking up at him.

"That's OK, you're my friend too. And he told me to take care of you for him anyway, so now I'm not gonna get my ass kicked for letting you have a breakdown." he teased attempting to lighten the mood.

"Oh yeah, I can see Roger threatening you too." she laughed looking up at him.

"There she is." he smiled looking down at her.

"Who?" she asked looking around.

"The old Ava. I missed her." he smiled hugging her again.

"Thanks Will. You're a good friend." she smiled looking up at him.

"I try my best." he smiled looking over at her.


	17. Chapter 17

"Look at me, I'm Roger Davis and I'm a badass rocker." Will teased walking around Ava's living room as she sat on the couch laughing.

"Oh, he is so not like that." she laughed looking up at him.

"Yeah, that's why you're laughing, right?" he laughed plopping next to her.

"No, I'm laughing because you're funny. It must run in the family. Roger's funny too." she laughed looking over at him.

"Yeah but, he gets all the girls." he said looking over at her.

"Will, can I ask you a question?" Ava asked curling her legs underneath her.

"What's up Ava?" he asked looking over at her.

"How come you don't have a girlfriend?" she asked looking over at him.

"The right girl is taken." he said looking down at the floor.

"What do you mean?" she asked looking over at him.

"Nothing." he said quietly getting up from the couch.

"No Will, what do you mean?" she asked looking up at him.

"I want what Roger has." he said looking down at her agitated.

"You mean a rock chick you can fall in love with?" she asked looking up at him.

"No, I mean, I want what Roger has. I'm in love with you Ava." he blurting out looking down at her.

"Will... I didn't know." she said looking up at him.

"I'm sorry Ava. I didn't mean to say that. I should go home now." he said leaning down to get his book bag.

"Will, you don't have to go." she said getting up to go after him.

"Yeah I do Ava. My cousin's in love with you. He wants to marry you. I shouldn't be thinking about you in that way." he said looking down at her.

"Will, we're friends, right?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, but Ava I wanna kiss you right now and your my cousins girlfriend. It's just too hard to be around you." he said looking down at her.

"Will, please. I don't want to lose you as a friend." she said looking up at him.

"But it's too hard to be around you Ava. Especially since every time I see you I wanna kiss you." he yelled standing in front of the door.

"Will, I..." she started when he leaned down to kiss her. "Will, we can't do this. I'm dating your cousin." she said pushing him away before running up to her room and slamming the door.

"Ava, I'm sorry." he yelled before leaving the house in a hurry. Ava couldn't believe Will had done that. He was Roger's cousin and Roger was away at college. How could he do that? They were in the band together and they were friends. She laid on her bed and cried. There is no way she could tell Roger. It would hurt him. Will wasn't only his cousin, but he was his best friend. She couldn't tell him. It would kill him if he found out. As Ava laid on her bed she looked at the pictures of Roger that adourned her room. She began thinking about drinking. She couldn't go to Mr. And Mrs. Davis because they would tell Roger what Will had done and she didn't think Roger would take it well. She felt like she had no one to talk to.

"Ava, are you home?" Ms. Parker asked entering the house.

"Yeah mom. I'll be out in a second." she yelled wiping her eyes. She got out of her bed and went downstairs.

"Is everything OK Ava?" she asked looking down at her.

"Yeah fine. I'm just not having a really good day. I'll get through it." she said looking up at her.

"Do you need to talk? Do you wanna go to a meeting?" she asked putting her bag down.

"Nah, I'm OK. I have a lot of homework anyway. I don't have time." she said looking up at her.

"Sweetie, you need to make the time. If you're having a rough time, you need to address it, or you're gonna start drinking again." Ms. Parker told her looking down at her.

"Mom, I'm fine. I can deal with this. God, I haven't had a drink in over a year. When is everyone gonna stop treating me like an invalid?" she asked yelling at her before running up the stairs back to her room.

"Avalon Marie Donnelly." Ms. Parker yelled standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Mom, leave me alone, OK?" she asked yelling through her bedroom door.

"Luke, it's Sue. There's something going on with Ava and she won't talk to me... No, she said she doesn't need a meeting... I don't know. Do you know if Roger called her?... then I don't know... could you?... thank you. Bye." Ms. Parker said hanging up the phone. She was worried about Ava. She knew Roger being away at school was gonna be hard on her and considering she hadn't had the chance to see much of him since he had a lot of school work. They spoke on the phone every day, but that was no subsititute for being with him. Every time Roger left, Ava got worse. It was almost as if seeing him was worse than not seeing him. As she looked up at the picture of Ava and Roger from Roger's prom, there was a knock at the door. "Oh Luke, thank God. I don't know what happened today and she won't talk to me. Maybe you'll have more luck." Ms. Parker said looking up at him.

"Sue, calm down. Where is she?" he asked looking around.

"Up in her room. I don't know what to do. I'm afraid she's gonna start drinking again." she said starting to cry.

"Sue, everything is gonna be OK. I'll go talk to her. Everything is gonna be fine." he said reassuring her as he hugged her.

"Thank you Luke." she said looking up at him.

"Don't worry Sue. I'll take care of everything." he said looking down at her before going upstairs to Ava's room. "Ava, it's Luke. Are you OK?" he asked knocking on the door.

"I'm fine Mr. Davis. I don't know why my mom called you. I'm OK." she said looking up at him.

"It's OK if you're not you know." Mr. Davis said looking down at her as she went into her room more and he followed her. "Did Roger call?" he asked looking over at her as she sat on her bed.

"Why? Did he say something?" she asked looking over at him.

"No sweetie, he didn't. Everything's fine as far as I know. Your mom and I are just really worried about you. If you're having a rough day, maybe you should go to a meeting. I'll take you if you want. We can get a bite to eat too. We can talk." he suggested looking over at her.

"Mr. Davis, I'm OK. Really. I just had a bad day." she said looking up at him.

"We both know you're full of it sweetie. You know, you can talk to me. You know you can tell me anything. If you don't want me to tell anyone else, I won't." he said looking over at her.

"I know Mr. Davis. I just don't think I can talk about it." she said starting to cry.

"Ava, you're starting to scare me now. Did someone hurt you?" he asked looking over at her.

"No. It's nothing like that. I promise." she said looking up at him.

"So tell me what happened Ava. I want to help you." he said as Ava began wiping her eyes.

"Me and Will have been hanging out a lot lately and today, he told me he was in love with me and he kissed me. You can't tell Roger, Mr. Davis. Will's not only his cousin, but he's one of his best friends too. It would only hurt Roger and I don't want to do that." she cried looking up at him.

"OK, OK sweetie. We don't have to tell Roger. I promise. But you shouldn't have to go through this alone. That's a big thing for you to have to deal with all alone sweetie." he said wrapping his arms around to comfort her.

"I'm sorry Mr. Davis. I didn't know Will had feelings for me. If I did, I never would have been hanging out with him. I love Roger. I only want to be with Roger." she cried as he rocked her back and forth.

"I know sweetie. It's OK. You didn't do anything wrong. Don't worry about anything. Everything is gonna be OK Ava. I promise." he said kissing her head.

"Can we go to a meeting Mr. Davis?" she asked looking up at him.

"Sure sweetie. Why don't you get cleaned up and I'll wait downstairs with your mom?" he smiled wiping her face with his hands.

"Mr. Davis." she called out as he got up from her bed.

"What's the matter Ava?" he asked looking down at her.

"Thanks. I wish my dad was like you." she said smiling up at him.

"So do I sweetie. You deserve the best." he smiled before leaving the room and closing the door.


	18. Chapter 18

"Baby, are you OK?" Roger asked looking down at Ava as she lay on his chest in her bed.

"Yeah, I'm OK. I just missed laying here with you like this." she said looking up at him.

"I did too. I hate not being able to sneak into your room to hold you in my arms." he smiled leaning down to kiss her head.

"Me too Roger." she smiled looking up at him propping her chin on his chest.

"Ava, come away with me this summer." he said smiling down at her.

"Away? Away where?" she asked looking up at him.

"I don't know. Just away. We're both 18 and I wanna go away with you before we have to go to school." he smiled looking down at her.

"Like a vacation?" she asked sitting up facing him.

"Yeah, why not? It'll be fun." he said reaching up to caress her face.

"I think that's a great idea." she smiled leaning down to kiss him as he pulled her on top of him.

"So I guess we're going on vacation together. Now all we have to do is figure out where we want to go." he smiled leaning up to kiss her passionately.

"Ugh, as long as where ever we go has a bed, I'm fine." she whispered submitting to him.

"Me too." he whispered kissing her again as they began to make love again.

"You really did miss me, huh?" she asked laughing as they laid on their backs smiling at one another.

"You can definitely say that." he smiled reaching over to caress her face with his thumb.

"Good. I was afraid the college girls were gonna be all over you." she smiled looking up at him.

"No way Baby. I only have eyes for you." he whispered leaning over to kiss her before holding her in his arms.

"Me too Roger." she whispered holding him tight.

"So, what do you wanna do tonight? Anything you want. Just name it and I'll make it happen." he smiled looking down at her.

"Anything?" she asked looking up at him.

"Oh no. I'm in for it, aren't I?" he asked looking down at her.

"I just want to spend the night alone with you." she smiled looking up at him.

"Here in bed?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yep. In bed. Just you and me." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"I like that idea. But what about your mom?" he asked looking down at her.

"She's agreed to make herself scarce tonight and even said you can sleep over. Since I'm 18 and your 19 and we're gonna be living together in the fall and everything, she didn't see the big deal. And your parents said you could too." she smiled as he looked at her surprised.

"Really? How did you...?" he started when she leaned in to kiss him again.

"Everybody loves me. And they know how much we love each other. Plus we're adults now, so it's not like they can do much anyway." she smiled holding him closer.

"And we're getting married when we get out of school, right?" he asked looking over at her.

"Yes we are." she smiled kissing him again.

"Come on, let's get dressed." Roger told her getting out of bed.

"Where are we going? I thought you wanted to stay in bed all night?" she asked looking up at him confused.

"How about we go out to dinner, and see the gang and then we can come back here and spend the night in bed?" he suggested as Ava looked up at him.

"Why do we have to go out? We can order in." she asked looking up at him.

"Oh come on. We can call Jimmy, June, Sophia, Will and Maureen. It'll be fun. I missed hanging out with everyone." he said slipping into his boxers smiling down at her.

"Roger, why can't we just spend your first night home in months alone? Just you and me?" she asked looking up at him.

"Ava, what's the matter? How come you don't want to hang out with our friends?" he asked sitting on the bed next to her.

"I just missed being with you so much. I want to spend the night just you and me." she said sitting up to look at him.

"OK Ava. You win. I'm gonna go downstairs and order something for dinner and we can spend the whole night here alone together." he smiled looking down at her.

"Thank you Roger." she smiled looking over at him.

"Ava, I love you. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you." he smiled leaning over to kiss her.

"I know, I love you too Roger." she smiled wrapping her arms around him to hold him close.

* * *

"Will, let me ask you something. How's Ava doing, really?" Roger asked looking over at him as they sat in the pizzeria.

"She's fine Rog. She really loves you, you know? You're a lucky guy." Will said looking over at him eating his pizza.

"I know. I'm extremely lucky that a girl like Ava agreed to have anything to do with me." he smiled looking over at Will looked down at the table.

"I kissed Ava a couple of months ago." Will blurted out looking across the table from him.

"You did what? When? Why didn't she tell me?" he asked looking over at him putting his pizza down.

"I'm sorry Roger. I don't know what I was thinking." he said looking over at him.

"Why would you do that Will? You know I'm in love with her. Will, you're my cousin." he yelled standing up in the middle of the pizzeria.

"I said I was sorry Roger. It just happened. I didn't mean it to happen, but I love her too Roger." he said as Roger stared down at him stunned.

"You... you love her? My girlfriend. The girl I wanna marry, you love her?" he asked wanting to punch him right there in the middle of the restaurant.

"Yeah Roger, I love her. She's amazing." he said looking up at him.

"Don't you think I know she's amazing? She's my girl Will. I wanna marry her. But hwy would you make a move on her knowing how I feel about her?" he asked looking down at him.

"I'm sorry Roger. I didn't mean..." he started looking up at him.

"I can't be in the same room with you right now." Roger yelled storming out of the pizzeria. He was so hurt by what Will had just told him. Why wouldn't Ava have told him about what happened with Will? The closer he got to Ava's house, the more hurt he was. When he got to Ava's house he rang the doorbell.

"Hi Baby. I thought you were going to the pizzeria with Will?" Ava asked as she opened the door.

"Why didn't you tell me about Will kissing you a few months ago?" he asked angry and hurt.

"Roger, how did you...?" she started when he cut her off.

"Will told me. But it would have been nice if you told me. I mean, you are my girlfriend." he said entering the house.

"Roger, I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you. He kissed me and I pushed him away right away and told him that I love you and that I'm with you." she said as they entered the living room.

"But Ava, you should have told me." he said looking down at her.

"I know. I'm sorry Roger. I should have told you, but I was really freaked out and the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you. I mean, not only is Will your cousin but he's one of your best friends. I didn't want to hurt you." she cried looking up at him.

"Ava, how can I trust you when you don't tell me things like this?" he asked starting to raise his voice.

"Roger, I'm sorry." she cried sitting on the couch.

"How could you not tell me something like this Ava? I mean, I'm all the way in Boston and my cousin is making the moves on you." he yelled as Ava just sat on the couch crying.

"Roger, I didn't want him to. I pushed him away and I stayed away from him. I swear. I love you Roger. We're going away to school together in the fall." she cried looking up at him.

"I have to get out of here. I need to think." he said going towards the door.

"Roger, don't go. Please. I love you. I just didn't want to hurt you." she said rushing after him.

"Ava, I love you too, but I need to go for a walk. I'll call you later." he said looking down at her before leaving the house. Ava just stood by the door crying watching him walk down the block. She leaned against the wall and cried harder. As she slid to the floor she hugged her body and thought about how much she loves Roger. All she wanted to do was protect him and now he didn't trust her anymore. She couldn't take it. She knew her mom kept liquor in the house, but she kept it hidden since Ava's alcohol poisoning incident the year before. Ava started searching the house and found a bottle of vodka in the cabinet over the refrigerator. She opened the bottle and began drinking from it as she sat on the kitchen floor.


	19. Chapter 19

"Roger? How come you're not with Ava?" Mr. Davis asked seeing Roger sitting in the garage strumming his guitar.

"Nah, me and Ava are taking a break." he answered looking up at him.

"What happened Roger? Is everything OK?" he asked looking over at him.

"Will kissed Ava and she didn't tell me. How am I supposed to trust her after that?" he asked looking back down at his guitar.

"Roger, she loves you. Do you really believe she reciprocated?" Mr. Davis asked looking down at him.

"Dad, she lied to me by omission. If she's gonna lie to me about this, what else is she gonna lie to me about? How do I know she's not gonna lie to me about drinking too?" he asked putting his guitar down.

"Roger, when you were gone Ava had a really rough time. I mean really rough. When Will kissed her, all she could do was think about how much it would hurt you because you and Will are so close..." he started when Roger cut him off.

"Dad, you knew and you didn't tell me?" he asked looking up at him.

"She needed someone to talk to and she asked me not to tell you. Roger, I'm her sponsor. She has to be able to trust me and not feel like she's gonna be judged." Mr. Davis said looking over at him.

"But you're my dad. Aren't you supposed to look out for me too?" he yelled looking over at him.

"Roger, things are not that simple." Mr. Davis said looking over at him.

"But dad, you know how much I love her. How can I marry her after she kept something like this from me?" he asked looking up at him.

"Roger, you're gonna have to stand back and use your best judgement. You love Ava and Ava loves you. You know she would never do anything to jeopardize that. And I think you need to think about that before you do something you're gonna regret for the rest of your life." Mr. Davis said leaving Roger alone in the garage.

* * *

"Ava honey, Roger's on the phone." Ms. Parker said standing in the doorway of Ava's bedroom. 

"I can't talk to him right now mom." Ava said facing the window as she lay on her bed.

"But sweetie, it sounds important." she said moving closer to her.

"Not now mom. Please." she said still not looking at her.

"OK sweetie. I'll tell him. But I really thing you should talk to him." Ms. Parker said turning to leave the room. When Ms. Parker left the room, Ava reached under the bed for her bottle of vodka to take a swig from before laying down at and falling asleep.

"Ava. Ava, wake up? Roger's here." Ms. Parker said entering the bedroom. When she walked around the other side of the bed, she noticed the bottle laying next to the bed. "Avalon." she shouted shaking her.

"What?" Ava yelled looking up at her.

"Roger, you need to get up here. Now." Ms. Parker yelled picking up the bottle from the side of the bed.

"Why are you calling him up here? I don't want to see him." Ava slurred sitting up in the bed.

"What's the matter?" he asked rushing into the bedroom.

"Nothing. Go away." Ava yelled looking over at him.

"She's drinking again." Ms. Parker said holding the bottle up.

"I'm 18 years old. I don't need anyone's permission to drink." she yelled looking up at her mother.

"Ava, did you forget the last time you drank? You almost died. Is that what you're trying to do? Kill yourself?" Roger asked approaching her.

"What do you care? You can't trust me anyway, right? I mean, you haven't talked to me in 2 weeks." she yelled looking over at him, her eyes were watering up.

"Ava, I still love you. I always will..." he started before she cut him off.

"Yet, you can't stand to be around me. Why are you even here Roger?" she asked plopping down onto her bed.

"I came to talk to you Ava. I wanted to tell you that I love you and I'm willing to do whatever I need to do for us to get past this Will thing." he said looking over at her.

"There is no Will thing Roger. How many times do I have to tell you? Nothing happened between me and Will. He kissed me and I pushed him away and told him I love you. That's it. God, I'm so sick of rehashing this with you. Just go home Roger. I can't talk to you right now." she yelled looking up at him.

"How long have you been drinking again Avalon?" Ms. Parker asked looking down at her daughter in disbelief.

"A couple of weeks." she said looking up at her.

"Baby, you threw away over a year and a half of sobriety?" he asked looking over at her.

"No, you don't get to call me that anymore. You don't trust me anymore." she yelled starting to cry.

"Ava, I'm sorry..." he started before she cut him off.

"No. Just go Roger, OK? I don't want to see you right now." she yelled turning away from him as Ms. Parker looked down at her.

"Roger, maybe you should come back later." she said looking up at him.

"No. Not later." she yelled looking up at her.

"OK, OK sweetie. Lay down, OK?" Ms. Parker said leaving the room taking Roger with her.

"How did this happen? She's been doing so good." Roger asked looking down at her.

"I don't know Roger. I didn't know about the Will thing. Maybe she's been holding that inside and when you found out, she broke. She'll be OK. She just needs to sleep it off. We can deal with this tomorrow." Ms. Parker said looking up at him.

"No. I can't deal with this tomorrow. Um... I'm leaving tonight. It was only gonna be long enough to clear my head, but I can't come back to her like this. I almost lost her once. I'm not gonna do it again. I can't." he said looking down at the bottle of vodka.

"Roger, she had a little slip up. She's had a lot going on lately. You two haven't really been talking. I'm sure it's been hard on her. She just needs the people who love her around her." Ms. Parker said looking up at him.

"Ms. Parker, I love her. I can't watch her do this anymore. I'm sorry. Just tell her that I love her and I always will, OK? Can you do that for me?" he asked looking down at her with tears in his eyes.

"Sure Roger. I can tell her. She loves you too. I know she does. That's why you two not talking hit her so hard. Just don't be gone too long, OK?" she said looking up at him.

"I'll try not to, but I can't watch her do this. I'm sorry." he told her rushing down the stairs before leaving the house. Ms. Parker was not looking forward to telling her daughter that Roger was gone. Recovery was gonna be a long road for Ava. Especially without Roger by her side to support her.

A/N: This is the end of Tonight is What it Means to Be Young. I hope you liked it. I will be posting a sequel soon so keep your eyes peeled for it.


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